Socio-economic statistics for Downham Market, Norfolk

Is Downham Market in King's Lynn and West Norfolk a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Downham Market older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Downham Market and King's Lynn and West Norfolk? What is the claimant count in Downham Market and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Downham Market Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Downham Old Town.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Downham Market?

The largest employment sector in Downham Market is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Administrative & Secretarial.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	16.37%
Elementary Occupations	13.11%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.07%
Skilled Trades	11.17%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	10.68%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	10.47%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	10.19%
Administrative & Secretarial	7.98%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Downham Market & King's Lynn and West Norfolk Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Downham Market in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Downham Old Town	87.18%	12.82%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	89.67%	10.33%
East	85.09%	14.91%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downham Market compared to other wards in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	St. Margaret's with St. Nicholas	71.38%	28.62%
2	North Lynn	71.92%	28.08%
3	Fairstead	72.41%	27.59%
4	Gaywood Clock	78.52%	21.48%
5	Springwood	79.86%	20.14%
6	South & West Lynn	81.33%	18.67%
7	Feltwell	82.43%	17.57%
8	Gaywood Chase	82.92%	17.08%
9	Downham Old Town	87.18%	12.82%
10	East Downham	90.61%	9.39%
11	North Downham	91.12%	8.88%
12	Methwold	91.29%	8.71%
13	Gaywood North Bank	91.46%	8.54%
14	The Woottons	92.46%	7.54%
15	West Winch	92.56%	7.44%
16	Wissey	93.01%	6.99%
17	South Downham	93.75%	6.25%
18	Airfield	94.44%	5.56%
19	Hunstanton	94.44%	5.56%
20	Walsoken, West Walton & Walpole	94.44%	5.56%
21	Emneth & Outwell	94.63%	5.37%
22	Burnham Market & Docking	94.75%	5.25%
23	Massingham with Castle Acre	95.02%	4.98%
24	Denver	95.19%	4.81%
25	Tilney, Mershe Lande & Wiggenhall	95.32%	4.68%
26	Terrington	95.37%	4.63%
27	Bircham with Rudhams	95.43%	4.57%
28	Upwell & Delph	95.46%	4.54%
29	Watlington	95.5%	4.5%
30	Brancaster	95.78%	4.22%
31	Gayton & Grimston	96.08%	3.92%
32	Heacham	96.27%	3.73%
33	Clenchwarton	96.37%	3.63%
34	Dersingham	96.5%	3.5%
35	Snettisham	96.68%	3.32%

';Downham Market is ranked 9 out of 35 wards in King's Lynn and West Norfolk for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downham Market Health Statistics

Downham Old Town has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Downham Old Town	41.79%	36.26%	15.76%	4.84%	1.35%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	41.74%	36.91%	15.41%	4.6%	1.33%
East	48.28%	34.64%	12.5%	3.58%	1%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How has the health of residents in King's Lynn and West Norfolk changed since 2011?

King's Lynn and West Norfolk residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.66% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	40.91%	37.08%	15.9%	4.8%	1.31%
2021	41.74%	36.91%	15.41%	4.6%	1.33%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Downham Market and King's Lynn and West Norfolk

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Downham Market either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 49.76 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 50.24 of Downham Market residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Downham Old Town	49.76%	50.24%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	67%	33%
East	65.23%	34.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downham Market has a significantly lower level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically deprived area.

Downham Market compared to other wards in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	The Woottons	86.46%	13.54%
2	Clenchwarton	83.06%	16.94%
3	West Winch	80.29%	19.71%
4	South Downham	80.23%	19.77%
5	Walsoken, West Walton & Walpole	79.5%	20.5%
6	Gayton & Grimston	76.31%	23.69%
7	Tilney, Mershe Lande & Wiggenhall	76.24%	23.76%
8	Gaywood North Bank	75.96%	24.04%
9	Terrington	75.77%	24.24%
10	Springwood	75.53%	24.47%
11	Heacham	75.5%	24.5%
12	Wissey	75.48%	24.52%
13	Emneth & Outwell	75.47%	24.53%
14	Watlington (King's Lynn and West Norfolk)	74.75%	25.25%
15	Upwell & Delph	74.2%	25.8%
16	North Downham	73.36%	26.64%
17	Snettisham	73.27%	26.73%
18	Denver	72.25%	27.75%
19	Methwold	71.88%	28.12%
20	Dersingham	71.73%	28.27%
21	Brancaster	69.47%	30.53%
22	Bircham with Rudhams	67.06%	32.94%
23	Hunstanton	66.53%	33.47%
24	Airfield	65.4%	34.6%
25	East Downham	65.17%	34.83%
26	Feltwell	64.65%	35.35%
27	Burnham Market & Docking	62.9%	37.1%
28	Gaywood Chase	59.96%	40.04%
29	Massingham with Castle Acre	58.51%	41.49%
30	South & West Lynn	53.64%	46.36%
31	Gaywood Clock	50.95%	49.05%
32	Downham Old Town	49.76%	50.24%
33	Fairstead	40.09%	59.91%
34	North Lynn	36.59%	63.41%
35	St. Margaret's with St. Nicholas	31.04%	68.96%

Downham Market is ranked 32 out of 35 wards in King's Lynn and West Norfolk for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downham Market Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Downham Market residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Downham Market to the national average for England.

Level	Downham Old Town	England
No Qualifications	22.36%	18.08%
Level 1	13.35%	9.69%
Level 2	15.44%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.13%	5.32%
Level 3	13.73%	16.92%
Level 4	26.54%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downham Market Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	2.8%	-0.1%
East of England	3%	-0.3%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Downham Market on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Downham Market.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	54.34%
In Part-Time Work	25.03%
Unemployed	5.25%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

74.97% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Downham Market

What is the population of Downham Market and King's Lynn and West Norfolk?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in King's Lynn and West Norfolk including Downham Market. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Airfield	6128
Bircham with Rudhams	2645
Brancaster	2256
Burnham Market & Docking	2520
Clenchwarton	2705
Denver	2381
Dersingham	5807
Downham Old Town	3344
East Downham	3165
Emneth & Outwell	4883
Fairstead	6930
Feltwell	5814
Gayton & Grimston	5700
Gaywood Chase	2903
Gaywood Clock	3300
Gaywood North Bank	7746
Heacham	5197
Hunstanton	4189
Massingham with Castle Acre	3094
Methwold	2814
North Downham	2425
North Lynn	6701
Snettisham	2608
South & West Lynn	5399
South Downham	2135
Springwood	3426
St. Margaret's with St. Nicholas	5285
Terrington	5857
The Woottons	6816
Tilney, Mershe Lande & Wiggenhall	4919
Upwell & Delph	6155
Walsoken, West Walton & Walpole	5762
Watlington	2717
West Winch	4875
Wissey	2644
King's Lynn and West Norfolk Total	151245

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

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