Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Donaghadee ranks below 84% of towns in England and Wales on households with dependent children: 23%
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.3 across Northern Ireland’s towns. Donaghadee counted 7,325 residents and 3,325 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 9% of residents are aged 15 to 24. 27% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 76% of towns in England and Wales.
Older than 81% of towns in England and Wales: half of Donaghadee is over 49.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.8% of residents. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 80% of towns in England and Wales.
Median age of towns in England and Wales of 2,500+
■ Donaghadee, 49.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across Northern Ireland, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Donaghadee: 5.8% of adults are full-time students, above 80% of towns in England and Wales
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the 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 Donaghadee’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 22% in routine and semi-routine work, against 29% and 27% across Northern Ireland’s towns. The share of full-time students across Northern Ireland’s towns is 8.3%. The census found that one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Below 96% of towns in England and Wales: 1.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Ards and North Down’s towns and Northern Ireland’s towns
People per household
Northern Ireland’s towns.
The share of one-person households is 35%, against 34% across Northern Ireland’s towns. On average, 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Donaghadee sits above 65% of towns in England and Wales for households in detached houses (35%)
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
The share of households in flats is 12%, against 14% across Northern Ireland’s towns. On top of that, 18% of households have no car or van, a higher share than in 62% of towns in England and Wales. Across Northern Ireland’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 24%.
Above 79% of towns in England and Wales: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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 15%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.9%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1%). On average, 94% of residents have English as their main language across Northern Ireland’s towns. Donaghadee has fewer residents born outside the UK than nearly two thirds of towns in England and Wales, at 4.9%.
67% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 99% of towns in England and Wales
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White · all residents
White, not charted: 98% of Donaghadee · Ards and North Down’s towns 97% · Northern Ireland’s towns 96%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 21% across Northern Ireland’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Donaghadee comes in at 31%. By way of comparison, just over three quarters of residents describe themselves as Christian across Northern Ireland’s towns.
28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 78% of towns in England and Wales
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 257 people. Adults who have never married make up 41% across Northern Ireland’s towns. 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 72% of towns in England and Wales. What’s more, the share of unpaid carers is 13%, against 12% across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Among adults, 34% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
19% of Donaghadee’s adults have no qualification (25% across Northern Ireland’s towns), and 34% have one at degree level (32%).
Among 539 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people, the 113th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.9 in Red Lodge to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Donaghadee in age: Bungay (49.2), Cam (49.2), Edwinstowe (49.3) and Highworth (49.3).
1 of the 5 nearest towns are older than Donaghadee
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donaghadee | 7,325 | — | 49.2 | 27% | 23% |
| Bangor | 64,596 | 5 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 27% |
| Newtownards | 29,677 | 6.5 mi | 42.5 | 20% | 28% |
| Comber | 9,529 | 10.1 mi | 46.1 | 24% | 25% |
| Whitehead | 3,537 | 10.6 mi | 50.2 | 26% | 22% |
| Holywood | 10,757 | 11.5 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 26% |
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.
- “Ards and North Down’s towns” and “Northern Ireland’s towns” mean their settlements. Census comparisons pool every town in Ards and North Down (or Northern Ireland), summed the same way as Donaghadee’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. NISRA 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 Donaghadee’s residents
What is the population of Donaghadee?
The 2021 Census counted 7,325 people in Donaghadee’s settlement.
What is the average age in Donaghadee?
The median age was 49.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 81% of towns in England and Wales. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Donaghadee?
98% of residents described themselves as White in 2021, against 96% across Northern Ireland’s towns and 97% across Ards and North Down’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Donaghadee?
31% said they had no religion and 67% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 1.4% didn’t answer.
Is Donaghadee good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Schools are on Donaghadee’s schools page.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 (Flexible Table Builder), data zones summed to NISRA’s Settlement Development Limits 2015 (household composition by super data zone; women and men from whole data zones, which approximate the town’s boundary). 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.