Findings where this place differs most from its surroundings, with the evidence behind each one. A difference is not a verdict: it is a prompt to look closer.
Neighbourhoodsmedium confidence
Lower than England: Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall)
Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall) is 0.0% in Downham Old Town (2025), compared with 20.3% in England (20.3 percentage points lower; n = 3,208).
0% here20.3% England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (LSOA 2021 ranks and deciles) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Ward, compared with England
- Method
- Summarising deprivation for an area. The Indices of Deprivation rank every LSOA in England; decile 1 contains the most deprived 10 per cent of LSOAs nationally. Ranks and deciles are ordinal, so they are never averaged. An area is described by (1) how many of its LSOAs fall in each national decile, (2) how many of its residents live in LSOAs of each decile (mid-2024 population apportioned to output areas, see the area apportioning method), (3) the share of residents in the most deprived 10 and 20 per cent of LSOAs nationally, and (4) the median decile of residents. IoD is a relative measure of small areas, not of individuals: most people in a deprived LSOA are not deprived and many deprived people live elsewhere. England only. Where an area straddles the England-Wales border the figures cover the English part only and are not published unless 90 per cent of residents are covered.
- Limitations
- This figure is an estimate; see the methodology.
Homesmedium confidence
Lower than East of England: Households that own their home
Households that own their home is 49.5% in Downham Old Town (2021), compared with 65.2% in East of England (15.7 percentage points lower; n = 1,488).
49.5% here65.2% East of England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics (Census 2021): Census 2021 housing and household summary by Output Area (tenure, accommodation type, cars, overcrowding, household size, general health) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2021
- Geography
- Ward, compared with East of England
- Method
- Census 2021 housing summary. Percentages by output area are converted back to counts using the OA household total (or usual residents for health) and rolled up as in the area apportioning method, so area figures are household-weighted. England only: Welsh OAs are not in the loaded table, so Welsh and Scottish places have no value. Labelled 2021.
- Limitations
- This figure is an estimate; see the methodology.
- Census 2021 is a snapshot taken in March 2021 and may have changed since.
Homesmedium confidence
Lower than East of England: Typical (median) home sale price
Typical (median) home sale price is £186,250 in Downham Old Town (Year to Oct 2025), compared with £350,000 in East of England (47% lower; n = 56).
£186,250 here£350,000 East of England
How do we know this?
- Source
- HM Land Registry: Price Paid Data (standard price paid, category A) (Open Government Licence v3.0 (HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, Crown copyright))
- Period
- Year to Oct 2025
- Geography
- Ward, compared with East of England
- Method
- Price paid medians. Sales are mapped from postcode to each geography exactly. The headline is the median sale price over the latest 12 COMPLETE months (a month is complete when national standard sales are at least 85% of the average of the 24 months before it; currently November 2024 to October 2025) and the 12 months before that. Months after that (Nov 2025 onward in the April 2026 extract) are still being registered and are excluded. Yearly medians use complete calendar years 2016-2024. Medians need at least 10 sales; sales counts are published for any area. Medians describe homes that sold, not all homes, and are not adjusted for the mix of property types, so a change in the median can reflect what was sold. Registration lags completion, so recent months can be revised up. Only standard price paid sales (category A) are included.
- Limitations
- Covers the 12-month window Year to Oct 2025 only.
Communitymedium confidence
Higher than King's Lynn and West Norfolk: Anti-social behaviour per 1,000 residents
Anti-social behaviour per 1,000 residents is 21.2 per 1,000 in Downham Old Town (Year to Apr 2026), compared with 7.22 per 1,000 in King's Lynn and West Norfolk (about 2.9 times the King's Lynn and West Norfolk rate; n = 3,208).
21.2 per 1,000 here7.2 per 1,000 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
How do we know this?
- Source
- Police forces of England and Wales via data.police.uk: Street-level crime (12 monthly files) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Year to Apr 2026
- Geography
- Ward, compared with King's Lynn and West Norfolk
- Method
- Recorded street crime per 1,000 residents. Counts of crimes in police.uk street-level data for May 2025 to April 2026, matched to 2021 LSOAs by the LSOA code on each record, then split to output areas by population and rolled up (see the area apportioning method). Rates are crimes per 1,000 residents (mid-2024 population) and describe where crimes were recorded, not who committed them or where victims live. High rates occur where many non-residents pass through (town centres, transport hubs, nightlife), so they are not a measure of risk to residents. Crimes with no location (blank LSOA) are excluded; the excluded share by force is in the notes. Greater Manchester Police data are absent from the extract, so those areas have no value. Categories follow police.uk. Anti-social behaviour is incident data, not crime proper, and is included only in the "all categories" rate. 12 months only: no trend is possible and seasonal effects are included.
- Limitations
- Rates use the resident population, so places with many visitors, workers or a busy centre can show higher rates; crimes are recorded where they occur.
- This figure is an estimate; see the methodology.
- Twelve months of crime data only, so no year-on-year comparison is possible; crimes are recorded where they occur, not by residence of those involved.
Economymedium confidence
Higher than similar council areas: Change in jobs located in the area over five years (King's Lynn and West Norfolk figure)
Change in jobs located in the area over five years is 5.0% in King's Lynn and West Norfolk (2019..2024), compared with -5.5% across five council areas with a similar profile (Havant, Folkestone and Hythe, Eastbourne, Amber Valley, Canterbury); 10.4 percentage points higher. It lies outside the range of all five (-10.0% to 0.0%).
King's Lynn and West Norfolk figure
5% King's Lynn and West Norfolk figure-5.5% five similar council areas: Havant, Folkestone and Hythe, Eastbourne, Amber Valley, Canterbury
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), open access, via Nomis (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2019..2024
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: Havant, Folkestone and Hythe, Eastbourne, Amber Valley, Canterbury
- Method
- Employment by industry (BRES). BRES is the official source of employee and employment estimates by detailed industry and area. Employment is employees plus working owners, counted at the place of work and in the survey week in September. It covers all sectors except small farm agriculture, and the self-employed who are not registered for PAYE or VAT. ONS rounds BRES employment and suppresses small cells, so industry sums may not add to the total. Jobs here are not residents: people may live elsewhere. Part-time and full-time jobs count equally (they are not full-time equivalents).
- Limitations
- Rounded inputs; the 2020 to 2021 pandemic years lie inside this window.
- This figure is for the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area, not for Downham Old Town itself.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.
Economymedium confidence
Increase between 2022 and 2025: Median weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area (King's Lynn and West Norfolk figure)
Median weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area in King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area went from £591 (2022) to £731 (2025): up 24% (not adjusted for inflation), compared with up 18.7% in England.
King's Lynn and West Norfolk figure
£731 King's Lynn and West Norfolk figure£591 same place, 2022
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), via Nomis: tables 7 (place of work) and 8 (place of residence) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Council area, compared with same place, 2022
- Method
- Earnings from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. ASHE is a 1% sample of employee jobs from HMRC PAYE records, with a reference week in April. We hold the median gross pay of full-time employees, by place of residence (where the employee lives) and by place of work (where the job is), for the latest survey year and the years back to 2015. Median weekly pay is gross pay before tax for the pay period that includes the reference date; annual pay is gross annual pay for the year to April. Pay is in cash terms: it is not adjusted for inflation, so changes over time include price rises. Survey estimates have a margin of error that grows as areas get smaller; each value carries its coefficient of variation and values with a CV above 10% are marked low quality. Estimates ONS judges too unreliable (CV above about 40%) are not published and appear here as absent. Self-employed people are not covered. Residence-based figures describe people who live in the area wherever they work; workplace-based figures describe jobs located in the area wherever the employee lives. The two can differ a lot in commuter areas and city centres.
- Limitations
- Coefficient of variation 4.6%. Coefficient of variation 4.7%.
- This figure is for the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area, not for Downham Old Town itself.
- Prices are nominal and not adjusted for inflation or for changes in the mix of homes sold.