Photo: Jo and Steve Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Masham is over 56.4, older than 98% of UK towns
The figure for one-person households is 39% in Masham and 30% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Masham was home to 1,112 people in 569 households. For Masham, the census puts adults who have never married at 27%. Compared with other places, shared households of unrelated adults are scarce here: 1.6%, fewer than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Masham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Masham’s residents are under 56.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 36% 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).
Above 97% of UK towns: 36% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 6.5% in Masham. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% 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.
Masham ranks below 98% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.2%
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 account for 30% of Masham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 27%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 6.6% in the village. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer households with dependent children than 97% of UK towns: 18%
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.
A household here has 2 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. The share of households with dependent children across England’s towns is 29%.
Only 19% of households live in a detached house in Masham
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 17% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%. Locally, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment. Higher than in 70% of UK towns: 26% of households live in a terraced house.
Masham ranks above 97% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 99%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%; Masham has 3.8%. As a reference point, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) or in Africa (0.9%).
27% of residents said they have no religion, below 96% of UK towns
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: 96% of Masham · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Masham, nearly two thirds of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and African (0.3%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Masham sits higher than 93% of UK towns: 96%.
A larger share of unpaid carers than 84% of UK towns: 11%
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 share of married adults and civil partners is 49%, against 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 8.7% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 33%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Masham, 22%, while 33% hold one at degree level (34%).
Masham sits below 1 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masham | 1,112 | — | 56.4 | 36% | 18% |
| Bedale | 3,289 | 5.3 mi | 50.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Aiskew | 1,759 | 5.9 mi | 47.2 | 21% | 28% |
| Leeming Bar | 1,063 | 7.1 mi | 43.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Leeming | 1,712 | 7.5 mi | 29.1 | 8.5% | 40% |
| Ripon | 16,593 | 8 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 25% |
| Leyburn | 2,414 | 9.1 mi | 57.7 | 37% | 15% |
| Pateley Bridge | 1,343 | 10.1 mi | 54.6 | 33% | 19% |
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 Masham’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 Masham’s residents
What is the population of Masham?
The 2021 Census counted 1,112 people in Masham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Masham?
The median age was 56.4 at the 2021 Census. 6.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Masham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Masham?
27% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Masham good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Masham’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.