Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0A town of detached houses: 43% of households live in one
Where 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, March has 25%. At the 2021 Census, 21,345 people lived locally, in 9,539 households. For March, the census puts unpaid carers at 11%. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 71% of UK towns.
March’s population moved +4% on 2011, less than in 67% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. March’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 22,300 people in 2011; 23,200 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+15%) and the 16 to 29 least (−9%). In one year, mid-2023 to mid-2024, the population rose by 340, the most of any year.
A median age of 46: March is older than 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 7.2% of residents. In Buckden, the oldest of Cambridgeshire’s towns by this measure, it is 30%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ March, 46. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Only 3.9% of adults are full-time students in March
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; March has 9.3%. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 68% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cambridgeshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
With one-person households at 32%, March is ahead of 65% of UK towns on that count. For March, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 3%.
18% of households have no car or van, more than in 63% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Flats are home to 9.8% of households, against 23% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. The census found that nearly a fifth of households live in a terraced house in March.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 79% of UK towns: 95%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (5.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. On residents born outside the UK, March sits higher than 67% of UK towns: 8.5%. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 14% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 63% of UK towns, at 90%
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 90% of March · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (6%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and African (0.5%). For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%. The share of residents with no religion is 42%, against 37% across England’s towns.
45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 67% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
734 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; March has 33%.
19% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 19% of adults in March (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 25% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 43 in March North to 48 in March West
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
March West is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; March North the youngest (median age 43). Families with children are most common in March North (28% of households).
289 UK towns of 15,000 to 29,000 people: this is the 75th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bangor (26.4) and the oldest South Hayling (57.2). Nearest to March in age: Mirfield (46), Louth (46), Harwich (46) and Stratton St Margaret (46).
Older than March: 4 of the 7 towns nearby
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 21,345 | — | 46 | 25% | 25% |
| Doddington and Wimblington | 4,279 | 3.4 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 25% |
| Manea | 2,638 | 5.8 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 30% |
| Friday Bridge | 1,411 | 5.9 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
| Benwick | 1,145 | 6.3 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 30% |
| Upwell and Outwell | 3,664 | 6.7 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Chatteris | 11,022 | 6.9 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 26% |
| Wisbech St Mary | 1,069 | 7 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Cambridgeshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cambridgeshire (or England), summed the same way as March’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. March’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,960 people in 2021, against 21,345 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about March’s residents
What is the population of March?
The 2021 Census counted 21,345 people in March’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 23,200 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in March?
The median age was 46 at the 2021 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is March?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 8.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in March?
42% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is March good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in March North (28% of households). Schools are on March’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.