Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 0.5% of households live in a flat or apartment in Billy Row
The median age in Billy Row is 39.6, lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns. The village had 1,254 residents in 579 households at the 2021 Census. Here, 59% of households live in a terraced house. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.6% here and 4.3% across England’s towns.
Billy Row sits below 90% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (15%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
35–39 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. In Billy Row, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student village: 5.3% of adults study full-time
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 12% here and 11% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Above 82% of UK towns: 34% of households are one person living alone
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.
Billy Row sits close to the norm on households with dependent children: 29%, about the same as across England’s towns. A household here holds 2.2 people on average. The share of one-person households across England’s towns is 30%.
Above 67% of UK towns: 19% of households have no car or van
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
Where 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Billy Row has 23%. Households without a car or van make up 24% across England’s towns.
Only 2.2% of residents were born outside the UK in Billy Row
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.1%) and in Africa (0.5%). Higher than in 95% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns: 98%
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: 98% of Billy Row · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On religion, 46% answered “no religion” and 46% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in three quarters of UK towns. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Fewer married adults and civil partners than 90% of UK towns: 40%
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 carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 36. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 10% here, more than in 69% of UK towns. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Nothing unusual on adults who have never married: 39%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 24% of adults in Billy Row, 34% across England’s towns; 21% have no qualification, against 18%.
Billy Row is younger than 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Row | 1,254 | — | 39.6 | 15% | 29% |
| Crook | 9,717 | 1.7 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 27% |
| Willington | 5,685 | 2.7 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Esh Winning | 3,877 | 2.9 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 25% |
| Tow Law | 1,796 | 2.9 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 4.4 mi | 37.9 | 14% | 29% |
| Brandon | 9,508 | 4.9 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 26% |
| Langley Park | 4,031 | 5.1 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 25% |
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.
- “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 Billy Row’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 Billy Row’s residents
What is the population of Billy Row?
The 2021 Census counted 1,254 people in Billy Row’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Billy Row?
The median age was 39.6 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Billy Row?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Billy Row?
46% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Billy Row good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Billy Row’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.