Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 50.4: Martham is older than 87% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Martham, 97%. In 2021, the Census found 3,633 residents here, living in 1,563 households. The share of households in flats stands at 3.8%. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 50%, more than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Martham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Martham’s residents are under 50.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. 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.
Since 2011, Martham has grown +13%, faster than 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Martham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,600 people in 2011; 4,000 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2020 to mid-2021: 110. The 65 and over age group changed most (+57%) and the 16 to 29 least (−8%).
29% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 8.7% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 9.5% here, fewer than in 59% of UK towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Martham, 50.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 4.3% in Martham, less than in 74% 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%.
In Martham, 27% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 28% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. The census found that one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier locally.
25% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 84% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.4%, above 55% of UK towns. On the census count, 24% of households have dependent children. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%.
Only 11% of households in Martham have no car or van
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 16% of households live in a terraced house in Martham. Every 9th household or so has no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK: 2.5%, a lower share than 97% of UK towns
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 (1.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.4%). At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 97% of UK towns. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns.
Martham sits above 71% of UK towns for residents with no religion (44%)
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: 97% of Martham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 49%, against 46% across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (1.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Arab (0.1%). The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
In Martham, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 66% 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
Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care; in Martham, 10%. Locally, 50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
20% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 20% of its adults qualified to degree level, Martham compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 21% hold no qualification (18%).
111th highest median age among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Martham in age: Spixworth (50.3), Caddington (50.3), Langport (50.4) and New Romney (50.4).
Around Martham, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martham | 3,633 | — | 50.4 | 29% | 24% |
| Hemsby | 5,724 | 2.6 mi | 57.9 | 37% | 17% |
| Ormesby St Margaret | 2,741 | 3.3 mi | 52.9 | 30% | 20% |
| Caister-on-Sea | 9,095 | 5.4 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 20% |
| Acle | 2,268 | 5.6 mi | 54 | 34% | 18% |
| Sutton | 1,026 | 5.6 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 25% |
| Stalham | 3,383 | 6.4 mi | 49 | 29% | 20% |
| Great Yarmouth | 28,979 | 7.9 mi | 38 | 16% | 29% |
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 Martham’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. Martham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,766 people in 2021, against 3,633 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 Martham’s residents
What is the population of Martham?
The 2021 Census counted 3,633 people in Martham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,000 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Martham?
The median age was 50.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 87% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Martham?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Martham?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Martham good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Martham’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.