Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,608 in Norfolk, East of England.
Marham grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 80% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is safety (A+): 12 violent and sexual offences and 2.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is schools (D): primary results beat 18% of towns in England. The median home sold for £200,000 in the last three years, 4.2 times what households in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area earn in a year. Marham is a military garrison town: most residents serve or work for the armed forces and live in service housing, so it keeps its grades but isn’t ranked against other towns.
The 3 things Marham does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Marham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Marham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Marham.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Marham is below both Norfolk’s towns (2.5%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 29% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham JuniorLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 215 | D |
Homes saw 2.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below both Norfolk’s towns (6.1) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 30 crimes inside Marham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 2 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 57% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Marham has 9 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 9% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Marham comes below both Norfolk’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). Marham has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 4.9 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Marham | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
For Marham, that is above both Norfolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Social housing holds 6% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £230,000 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £210,000 | 11 |
| Terraced | £185,000 | 27 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Marham sits below both Norfolk’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 16% of residents. The median resident of Marham is 30.1 years old.
42% women, 58% men
About 72 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Marham is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
| Marham | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 38% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 16% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 9.8% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 10% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 34% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Marham. Best known first.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marham | 2,608 | — | A− | B− | A+ | B |
| Narborough | 1,362 | 2.6 | — | B− | B− | C+ |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 5.9 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 6.1 | — | D | B+ | C |
| Watlington | 2,593 | 6.3 | D | C | B+ | C |
| Swaffham | 8,434 | 6.4 | D | C+ | C | C− |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 6.7 | C+ | D | A− | B |
| Downham Market | 11,349 | 7.7 | C | C− | B− | C |
Narborough, Gayton and Stoke Ferry have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail 82% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Marham has 2 state schools; places are handled by Norfolk council.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £200,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £185,000, semi-detached houses £210,000 and detached houses £230,000.
Town in Norfolk, England
Marham is a built-up area of 2,608 people, in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.