Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.03.2% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 92% of UK towns
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. There were 1,161 households in St Martins at the 2021 Census, home to 2,692 residents. Across St Martins, 12% of households live in a terraced house. The median age locally is 46.3, higher than in 64% of UK towns.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 65% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.9%, against 12% across England’s towns. The largest age band is 55–59: 7.3% of residents. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ St Martins, 46.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
7.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 84% 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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%; St Martins has 5.2%. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
One-person households make up 27% in St Martins, less than in 70% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Shropshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.7%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone. The share of households with dependent children stands at 26%.
St Martins: 36% of households live in a detached house, above 68% of UK towns
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, 14% of households have no car or van in St Martins. For comparison, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 2.8% in St Martins, less than in 94% 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
Here 99% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across England’s towns is 90%. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in Africa (0.6%).
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 71% of UK towns: 53%
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 St Martins · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (1.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and African (0.2%). Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 41% in St Martins.
31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 60% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 83 residents. At 10%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 70% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
27% of St Martins’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 22% have none (18%).
514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people: this is the 228th 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 Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to St Martins in age: Pegswood (46.3), Shirland and Stonebroom (46.3), Asfordby (46.3) and Upwell and Outwell (46.3).
St Martins sits below 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Martins | 2,692 | — | 46.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Gobowen | 3,046 | 2.2 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Chirk | 3,930 | 2.3 mi | 45.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Weston Rhyn | 1,381 | 2.5 mi | 44 | 23% | 25% |
| Whittington | 1,618 | 3.5 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 29% |
| Acrefair and Cefn-mawr | 6,905 | 4.5 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 33% |
| Ellesmere | 4,268 | 4.6 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 23% |
| Oswestry | 17,500 | 4.7 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Shropshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Shropshire (or England), summed the same way as St Martins’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 St Martins’s residents
What is the population of St Martins?
The 2021 Census counted 2,692 people in St Martins’s built-up area.
What is the average age in St Martins?
The median age was 46.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 64% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is St Martins?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in St Martins?
41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is St Martins good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on St Martins’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.