Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.030% of Downham Market is 65 or over, a higher share than 91% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Downham Market, 2.1. At the 2021 Census Downham Market was home to 11,349 people in 5,299 households. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 47% here, more than in 87% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Downham Market’s people
Many older residents
30% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 91% of UK towns; 20% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Downham Market grew +13% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 71% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Downham Market’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,000 people in 2011; 11,300 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2014 to mid-2015, the population rose by 320, the most of any year. Of the age groups, 45 to 64 changed most (+25%) and 16 to 29 least (−3%).
In Downham Market, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 7.1% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Half of Downham Market’s residents are over 48.2, older than in 75% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Downham Market, 48.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 90 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.
Full-time students make up 3.4% in Downham Market, less than in 96% of UK towns
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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Downham Market has 29% and 30%. Few places have as many residents who moved in within the year: 11% here, more than in 85% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
22% of households have dependent children, below 88% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Norfolk’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The census found that 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Downham Market. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 16% in Downham Market, less than in 67% 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
18% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Households in flats: just over a tenth of the total.
Downham Market ranks above 72% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 9.6%
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
Since 2017: a fifth of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. 95% of residents have English as their main language.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 65% 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 Downham Market · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Downham Market, 40%. For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%. The groups that follow White British are Other White (6.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and African (0.4%). On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Downham Market sits higher than 60% of UK towns: 51%.
Only 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Downham Market
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
47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership (England’s towns: 44%). Set beside that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 367 residents.
Among adults, 24% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Downham Market, 24% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 23% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among 397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000 people, the 81st oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Downham Market in age: Huntington (48.2), Marple (48.2), Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe (48.3) and Chipping Sodbury (48.3).
Around Downham Market, 3 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downham Market | 11,349 | — | 48.2 | 30% | 22% |
| Watlington | 2,593 | 4.9 mi | 43.3 | 20% | 28% |
| Southery | 1,258 | 5.3 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 6 mi | 51.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Upwell and Outwell | 3,664 | 6.4 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Marshland St James | 1,025 | 6.9 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 24% |
| Marham | 2,608 | 7.7 mi | 30.1 | 9.8% | 39% |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 7.9 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Norfolk’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Norfolk (or England), summed the same way as Downham Market’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. Downham Market’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,349 people in 2021, against 11,349 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 Downham Market’s residents
What is the population of Downham Market?
The 2021 Census counted 11,349 people in Downham Market’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 11,300 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Downham Market?
The median age was 48.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 75% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Downham Market?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 9.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Downham Market?
40% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Downham Market good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Downham Market’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. 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.