Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns, at 58%
The figure for households without a car or van is 31% in Annfield Plain and 24% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 7,786 residents in the town, living in 3,677 households. The census found that 37% of households are one person living alone in the town. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 40%, fewer than in 92% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Annfield Plain’s people
Many carers
833 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 91% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Annfield Plain’s population moved +5% on 2011, less than in 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Annfield Plain’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 7,800 people in 2011; 8,100 in 2024.
Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 160, its biggest one-year gain. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+19%) and 45 to 64 least (−2%).
Annfield Plain is younger than 69% of UK towns: a median age of 42
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
People aged 65 and over make up 20% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. Annfield Plain has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 67% of UK towns, at 10%. The largest age band is 50–54: 7.1% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Annfield Plain, 42. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Annfield Plain, 4.2% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 77% 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%.
In Annfield Plain, 20% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 35% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Annfield Plain households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 92% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against County Durham’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The share of households with dependent children trails just over two thirds of UK towns: 25%. Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than in nearly four fifths of UK towns: 1.8%.
Annfield Plain ranks below 90% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 12%
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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 4.9% of households live in a flat or apartment in Annfield Plain. Elsewhere, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Only 3.3% of Annfield Plain’s residents were born outside the UK
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). 99% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 75% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Since 2017: nearly a tenth of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 96% in Annfield Plain, more than in 84% 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: 96% of Annfield Plain · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Annfield Plain has 44%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Indian (0.5%). Lower than in 55% of UK towns: 49% of residents describe themselves as Christian. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 91% of UK towns: 11% of residents
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
303 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Higher than in 89% of UK towns: 40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Set beside that, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 20% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 20% of adults in Annfield Plain, 34% across England’s towns; 25% have no qualification, against 18%.
Among 589 UK towns of 5,000 to 11,000 people, the 152nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tidworth is the youngest (28.4); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Annfield Plain in age: Wincanton (41.9), Oakdale (41.9), Southam (42) and Highbridge (42).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Annfield Plain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annfield Plain | 7,786 | — | 42 | 20% | 25% |
| Dipton | 2,653 | 1.5 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Tanfield Lea | 2,399 | 1.7 mi | 48.7 | 24% | 24% |
| Stanley | 19,423 | 1.9 mi | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Leadgate | 3,339 | 2.6 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 25% |
| Lanchester | 3,510 | 2.7 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 23% |
| Burnhope | 1,465 | 2.7 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 27% |
| Burnopfield | 2,998 | 3 mi | 45.9 | 24% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “County Durham’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in County Durham (or England), summed the same way as Annfield Plain’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Annfield Plain’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,081 people in 2021, against 7,786 in the built-up area.
- 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 Annfield Plain’s residents
What is the population of Annfield Plain?
The 2021 Census counted 7,786 people in Annfield Plain’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,100 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Annfield Plain?
The median age was 42 at the 2021 Census, younger than 69% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Annfield Plain?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Annfield Plain?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Annfield Plain good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Annfield Plain’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.