The ward level census data has been released and throws up some interesting statistics!

• The population of St Marks has increased from 9,644 in 2001 to 10,483 inn 2011 – an increase of 8.7% over the 10 years.
• Whilst Christianity is the largest religious group, there are a greater percentage of St Mark’s Ward residents who express ‘no religion’ than the national average with 34% compared to a national average of 24%.  This is up from 25% in 2001 census.
• Possibly not surprisingly St Mark’s Ward has more 30-44 year olds compared to national average (29% to 20% nationally) and this is up by 3% from 2001.  It also has a higher number of 25-29 year olds (12% to 7% nationally) although this is a decrease by 3% since 2001.
• St Mark’s Ward also has considerably more single people than national average with 35% of residents single compared to 26% nationally.  It also has more cohabiting couples with one fifth reporting this as nearly twice as many as the 12% nation average.
• St Mark’s residents generally have higher qualifications with nearly half having a Level 4 (degree or equivalent) compared to just over a quarter nationally and a 4% increase on 10 years before.
• A third of residents have no car compared to a quarter nationally.
• There has been a decrease in both people born in England (from 72% in 2001 to 67% in 2011) and describing themselves as white British (from 71% in 2001 to 64% in 2011).
• Surprisingly there are a twice as many households without central heating at 6% compared to national average of 3%.  However, given the percentage of private rented being over twice national average (37% compared to 15%) this may explain this situation.
• The number of St Mark’s residents who work at home has reduced from 427 to 361 even though the working population has increased from 8184 in 2001 to 8900 in 2011.  The number catching the train to work has increased from 1726 to 2206 over the 10 years since the previous census and those who cycle to work has also increased from 155 to 249.
• Finally the number who say they take a taxi to work in 2011 is 12 residents, the exact same number as in 2001!  The question is: are these the same 12 people?