Photo: Andrew Farquhar · CC BY 2.060% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 99% of UK towns
The figure for households in detached houses is 13% in Marsden and 21% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 3,691 people lived locally, in 1,706 households. Here, 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% here, more than in nearly four fifths of UK towns.
What the Census says about Marsden’s people
More with no religion than most
52% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 41% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Marsden ranks below 85% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Marsden’s residents are over 47, older than in 69% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Locally, 23% of residents are 65 or over. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Marsden, 47. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
In Marsden, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 75% 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%.
36% of Marsden’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The town has fewer full-time students than 64% of UK towns, at 4.5%. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Marsden households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 82% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against West Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Marsden has 32%. The census found that a quarter of households have dependent children locally.
Above 79% of UK towns: 22% of households 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
Households in flats: 9.6% here and 23% across England’s towns. About one household in 5 lives without a car or van.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 97% of UK towns: 2.4%
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
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Marsden comes in at 99%. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%).
52% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 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: 95% of Marsden · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Just over two in five residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Caribbean (0.4%).
11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 83% 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 Marsden and 39% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners account for 46%.
A degree-level qualification for 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 37% of its adults qualified to degree level, Marsden compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 17% hold no qualification (18%).
251st 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.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Marsden in age: Overton (46.8), Pen-pedair-heol (46.9), Hawkhurst (47) and Cardigan (47).
Marsden sits below 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsden | 3,691 | — | 47 | 23% | 25% |
| Linthwaite and Slaithwaite | 9,242 | 2.9 mi | 41.2 | 17% | 29% |
| Meltham | 8,325 | 3.2 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 28% |
| Outlane | 1,172 | 4.3 mi | 48.6 | 23% | 27% |
| Delph | 2,282 | 4.6 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 25% |
| Ripponden | 4,775 | 4.8 mi | 44.1 | 18% | 32% |
| Dobcross | 1,569 | 4.8 mi | 51.5 | 25% | 24% |
| Netherton (Kirklees) | 3,151 | 4.9 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “West Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in West Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Marsden’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 Marsden’s residents
What is the population of Marsden?
The 2021 Census counted 3,691 people in Marsden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Marsden?
The median age was 47 at the 2021 Census, older than 69% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Marsden?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 2.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Marsden?
52% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Marsden good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Marsden’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.