Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 91% of UK towns: half of Barnard Castle is over 51.8
Compared with 30% across England’s towns, nearly two in five households are one person living alone here. Census day 2021: 5,783 residents and 2,779 households in Barnard Castle. Households in terraced houses: 31% of the total. 1.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 94% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Barnard Castle’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Barnard Castle’s residents are under 51.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Barnard Castle ranks above 91% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.6%, against 12% across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 55–59 is the most common age band: 7.9% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Barnard Castle, 51.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Barnard Castle, 4.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 69% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 32% of Barnard Castle’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 25%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. On the census count, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Households with dependent children: 20%, a lower share than 94% 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 average household has 2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
17% of households live in a flat or apartment, a share 76% of UK towns don’t reach
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
A fifth of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns. On the census count, 22% of households have no car or van.
4.3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 73% of UK towns
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 70% of UK towns. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 24%.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 97% of UK towns: 63%
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 Barnard Castle · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Chinese (0.5%). Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 85% of UK towns. The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. By its share of residents with no religion (31%), Barnard Castle is below 93% of UK towns.
Adults who have never married: 29%, a lower share than 75% of UK towns
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 165. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 44%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 30%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Barnard Castle’s adults: 30% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Ranked by age, 74th oldest of 624 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Barnard Castle in age: Saltford (51.6), Brampton (51.8), Easingwold (51.8) and Cleadon (52).
Barnard Castle is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnard Castle | 5,783 | — | 51.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Startforth | 1,391 | 0.7 mi | 38.3 | 23% | 22% |
| Staindrop | 1,339 | 5.1 mi | 51.8 | 29% | 22% |
| Cockfield | 1,351 | 6.4 mi | 51.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Gainford | 1,127 | 7.3 mi | 53.5 | 31% | 24% |
| Evenwood | 1,587 | 8.2 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 23% |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 9.8 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Toft Hill and High Etherley | 1,865 | 9.9 mi | 51 | 27% | 22% |
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 Barnard Castle’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Barnard Castle’s residents
What is the population of Barnard Castle?
The 2021 Census counted 5,783 people in Barnard Castle’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Barnard Castle?
The median age was 51.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 91% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barnard Castle?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barnard Castle?
31% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Barnard Castle good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barnard Castle’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). 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.