Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.035% of households are one person living alone, more than in 85% of UK towns
With households with dependent children at 25%, Malton is behind three quarters of UK towns on that count. 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 84% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 6,320 residents in 2,901 households. The share of households without a car or van stands at 20%.
What the Census says about Malton’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Malton at 4,900 in 2011 and 6,700 in 2024, up 38%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 96% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
A growing town: +38% since 2011, faster than 96% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Malton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,900 people in 2011; 6,700 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 30 to 44 (+54%) and weakest among the 65 and over (+20%). Between mid-2017 and mid-2018 the population rose by 300, its biggest one-year gain.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 66% of UK towns: 9.3%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.2% of residents. As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The median age in Malton is 44.6, higher than in just over half of UK towns. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Malton, 44.6. 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.
Below 89% of UK towns: 3.8% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 12% in Malton. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 84% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Here 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, where the figure across England’s towns is 4.3%.
A town of flats: 16% of households live in one
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
In Malton, 28% of households live in a detached house. Households in terraced houses make up 21%, against 24% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents whose main language is English than 77% of UK towns, at 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
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, 8.4% of residents were born outside the UK here. Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (5.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Malton sits below 56% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (91%)
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: 91% of Malton · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (5.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Chinese (0.4%). Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Residents with no religion make up 37%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
In Malton, 7.6% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 90% 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
The figure for adults who have never married is 34% in Malton and 39% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%. On the census count, 45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Among adults, 32% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
32% of Malton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
709 UK towns of 4,000 to 9,000 people: this is the 294th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Malton in age: Horden (44.6), Skelton (Redcar and Cleveland) (44.6), Great Glen (44.6) and Willington (44.7).
Nearby, 5 of 6 towns have older populations than Malton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malton | 6,320 | — | 44.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Norton-on-Derwent | 7,909 | 0.8 mi | 43 | 21% | 26% |
| Rillington | 1,206 | 4.4 mi | 52.3 | 28% | 19% |
| Thornton-le-Dale | 1,858 | 7.2 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 17% |
| Pickering | 7,260 | 7.4 mi | 53.8 | 34% | 19% |
| Kirkbymoorside | 2,763 | 10.6 mi | 51.5 | 30% | 19% |
| Stamford Bridge | 4,487 | 11.4 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Malton’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. Malton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,320 people in 2021, against 6,320 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 Malton’s residents
What is the population of Malton?
The 2021 Census counted 6,320 people in Malton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,700 people in mid-2024, 38% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Malton?
The median age was 44.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 51% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Malton?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 8.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Malton?
37% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Malton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Malton’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.