Norfolk towns and villages: postcodes, post towns and councils

By Tom Fletcher Property and Relocation Editor Oct 2, 2026

9 min read

This page lists the 46 towns and villages we cover across Norfolk. Each place is shown with its postcode district, Royal Mail post town, district council, county, distance from Norwich and 2021 Census population. For the places grouped by size and type with context on each group, see our hub, Norfolk towns and villages. This page is the flat reference table, built for the “where is X” and “X postcode” questions.

Norfolk’s postcode areas

Norfolk uses three postcode areas. NR, the Norwich area, covers most of the county, from Norwich out to the north coast and across to Great Yarmouth. PE, the Peterborough area, covers west Norfolk, including King’s Lynn, Hunstanton, Downham Market and Swaffham. IP, the Ipswich area, reaches up from Suffolk into a strip along the Norfolk border, covering Thetford (IP24), Diss (IP22), Harleston (IP20) and Watton (IP25).

Postcodes are organised by Royal Mail sorting office, not by county. The IP24 and PE38 postcodes have nothing to do with which county a town is in. Thetford’s address ends IP24 because the Ipswich sorting office handles its post, but the town itself, its post town and its council are all in Norfolk. The reverse happens too: a handful of NR32, NR33, NR34 and NR35 postcodes sit in Suffolk, around Lowestoft, Beccles and Bungay. We do not cover those places.

Post towns can also surprise people. All of NR1 to NR16 have Norwich as their Royal Mail post town. An address in Aylsham (NR11), Reepham (NR10), Hingham (NR9) or Loddon (NR14) is written with Norwich on the line above the postcode, even though the town is 10 to 15 miles out. The post town is where the mail is sorted, not where the house is.

Norfolk’s councils

Local government in Norfolk runs on two tiers. Norfolk County Council handles education, highways, adult social care, children’s services, libraries and most planning appeals. Below it sit seven district or borough councils. They handle council tax, bins, housing benefit and planning applications: most of what residents deal with day to day.

The seven district-level councils are:

• Breckland Council, covering Thetford, Dereham, Attleborough, Swaffham, Watton and the villages around them.
• Broadland District Council, covering Aylsham, Reepham, Wroxham, the villages along the Bure, and the Norwich suburbs north and east of the city: Sprowston, Hellesdon, Thorpe St Andrew, Taverham and Drayton.
• Great Yarmouth Borough Council, covering Great Yarmouth, Gorleston-on-Sea and Caister-on-Sea.
• King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council, covering King’s Lynn, Hunstanton, Downham Market, Burnham Market, Dersingham and the villages across the west of the county.
• North Norfolk District Council, covering Cromer, Sheringham, Holt, Fakenham, North Walsham, Stalham, Wells-next-the-Sea, Happisburgh and Hoveton.
• Norwich City Council, covering the city within its own boundary. Several outer parts of Norwich postcodes sit in Broadland or South Norfolk instead.
• South Norfolk Council, covering Wymondham, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Long Stratton, Loddon, Mulbarton and the Norwich suburbs south and west of the city (Cringleford, Costessey, Hethersett, Poringland).

Which district you fall under matters: council tax rates are set by each district, as are Section 106 planning contributions. School admission priority areas are run by Norfolk County Council rather than the district, so the suburb boundaries do not always line up with the catchments.

The 46 places

One table, in order of size: Norwich, the four large towns, the 21 market towns, nine Norwich suburbs and 11 villages. The place name links to its full guide. Populations are 2021 Census figures and match those in each guide. Distances are from Norwich city centre (Norwich Market) as the crow flies.

IP postcodes and the Suffolk question

Four of the places above (Thetford, Diss, Harleston and Watton) have IP postcodes because the Royal Mail sorting office at Ipswich handles their post. All four are entirely in Norfolk. Thetford, Watton and the area around them are in Breckland. Diss and Harleston are in South Norfolk. If you are moving to one of these places and the paperwork asks for your county, write Norfolk.

The one case that genuinely sits in both counties is Wroxham. Wroxham village is in Broadland (Norfolk) and Hoveton across the bridge is in North Norfolk, and both share the NR12 postcode. We treat them as one place in our guide. The council tax, planning and bins differ by which side of the Bure your house is on.

Frequently asked questions

Is Thetford in Norfolk or Suffolk?

Thetford is in Norfolk. Its postcode is IP24, which sits in the Ipswich postcode area for Royal Mail, but the town itself, its post town and its council (Breckland District Council) are all in Norfolk.

What is King’s Lynn’s postcode?

The town of King’s Lynn uses PE30. The outlying villages take PE31 to PE34, all with King’s Lynn as their Royal Mail post town, so a PE32 or PE33 address is in or near King’s Lynn even though it is not the town itself.

Where is Aylsham?

Aylsham is a market town in Broadland district, about 11 miles north of Norwich. Its postcode is NR11 and its Royal Mail post town is Norwich, which is why Aylsham addresses are written as, for example, Market Place, Aylsham, Norwich NR11.

Which council covers Norwich?

Norwich City Council runs the city within its own boundary (postcodes NR1 to NR7, inner parts). Several outer suburbs that look like Norwich on the map, including Sprowston, Hellesdon, Thorpe St Andrew, Cringleford, Costessey and Hethersett, are run by Broadland or South Norfolk instead, which changes council tax and bins.

How many district councils does Norfolk have?

Seven. Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich City and South Norfolk. Norfolk County Council sits above them and handles education, highways and adult social care.

What postcode areas does Norfolk use?

Three. NR (Norwich) covers most of the county. PE (Peterborough) covers west Norfolk, including King’s Lynn, Hunstanton, Downham Market and Swaffham. IP (Ipswich) covers a strip along the Suffolk border, including Thetford, Diss, Harleston and Watton.

Is Diss in Norfolk or Suffolk?

Diss is in Norfolk, in South Norfolk district. Its IP22 postcode is in the Ipswich postcode area because Royal Mail organises postcodes by sorting office rather than by county, and the Ipswich office handles IP22.

Which Norfolk towns are nearest to Norwich?

Of the places with their own guide, Cringleford is the closest at about 3 miles south-west, then Hellesdon, Sprowston, Thorpe St Andrew and Costessey, each within about 4 miles of the Market Place. Hethersett and Taverham are about 6 miles out.

Methodology

The 46 places are the ones we publish a full area guide for. Populations are 2021 Census figures, parish counts or ONS built-up area counts as noted in each guide. The hub, Norfolk towns and villages, summarises which is which. District councils and postcode districts were verified against the ONS Postcode Directory via postcodes.io on 2 October 2026, using one central postcode per town. Royal Mail post towns are from the Postcode Address File. Distances from Norwich are straight-line distances from the Market Place, as we use at the top of each area guide (added on 1 October 2026).

Sources

• Office for National Statistics Postcode Directory, queried via postcodes.io, 2 October 2026.
• ONS, “Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021” (released 2 August 2023): ons.gov.uk.
• ONS Census 2021 parish profiles, via Nomis: nomisweb.co.uk.
• Royal Mail Postcode Address File, for post town assignments.
• Norfolk County Council and the seven district councils, for council scope and boundaries.

By Tom Fletcher, Norfolk Living Guide. Contributors write under editorial pseudonyms; see our about page for how the site is edited.

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