Photo: Ben Harris · CC BY-SA 2.03.4% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
The figure for one-person households is 19% in Marshland St James and 30% across England’s towns. The village counted 1,025 residents and 391 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 1.5% of households live in a flat or apartment. The median age locally is 49.6, higher than in 83% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Marshland St James’s people
Many carers
116 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 96% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 81% of UK towns: 27%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up nearly one in ten residents, against 12% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 55–59 is the most common age band: 8.2% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 3.9%, a lower share than 86% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 25% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 30% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). 8.7% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.5 people per household, more than in 91% 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.
Against a figure of 29% across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children in Marshland St James comes in at 24%. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 3.8% locally.
Above 99% of UK towns: 77% of households live in a detached house
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
Here 2.8% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. By contrast, 1.5% of households live in a flat, less than in 98% of UK towns; 77% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 5.1%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.3%) and in Africa (0.9%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 97% in Marshland St James.
Marshland St James ranks above 72% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%
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: 95% of Marshland St James · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.1%), African (1.1%) and Pakistani (0.6%). For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53% here, more than in 68% of UK towns. 36% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%.
Marshland St James sits above 96% of UK towns for unpaid carers (12%)
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
Married adults and civil partners: 53% here and 44% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. On the census count, 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
19% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Marshland St James, 19%, and 26% have none, against 18%.
Marshland St James and its 7 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshland St James | 1,025 | — | 49.6 | 27% | 24% |
| Tilney St Lawrence | 1,504 | 2.8 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 24% |
| Elm and Emneth | 4,555 | 2.9 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 25% |
| Wisbech | 26,800 | 3.5 mi | 41.7 | 20% | 28% |
| Upwell and Outwell | 3,664 | 4.3 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Walpole St Peter and Walpole St Andrew | 1,574 | 4.5 mi | 46.9 | 21% | 29% |
| Friday Bridge | 1,411 | 4.5 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
| Leverington | 1,694 | 5.1 mi | 47.2 | 29% | 25% |
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 Marshland St James’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Marshland St James’s residents
What is the population of Marshland St James?
The 2021 Census counted 1,025 people in Marshland St James’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Marshland St James?
The median age was 49.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Marshland St James?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Marshland St James?
36% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 9.6% didn’t answer.
Is Marshland St James good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Marshland St James’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). 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.