Photo: Carol Rose · CC BY-SA 2.01.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, below 99% of UK towns
With households in terraced houses at 52%, Blackhall Colliery is ahead of 98% of UK towns on that count. The town is home to 4,577 residents in 2,243 households, by the 2021 Census. For Blackhall Colliery, the census puts one-person households at 41%. Half of the town’s residents are over 49.8, older than in 84% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Blackhall Colliery’s people
Many carers
528 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 97% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Blackhall Colliery at 4,900 in 2011 and 4,900 in 2024, down 0%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 86% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2011, behind 86% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Blackhall Colliery’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,900 people in 2011; 4,900 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+28%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−18%).
Blackhall Colliery ranks above 78% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 26%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.2% in Blackhall Colliery. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Blackhall Colliery, 49.8. 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 England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
4.1% of adults are full-time students, below 81% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 7%, Blackhall Colliery is behind 84% of UK towns on that count. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Below 92% of UK towns: 21% of households have dependent children
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Blackhall Colliery, 2. On average, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
30% of households have no car or van, a share 95% 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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 5.4% of households live in a flat or apartment here. Just over one in ten households live in a detached house, fewer than in 93% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 2%
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
90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 99% in Blackhall Colliery. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (0.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
In Blackhall Colliery, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 98% 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: 97% of Blackhall Colliery · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Blackhall Colliery has 58%. Meanwhile, at 35%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 73% across England’s towns.
Blackhall Colliery sits above 97% of UK towns for unpaid carers (12%)
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
44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 41% in Blackhall Colliery. More adults who have never married than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 35%. As a yardstick, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 196.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 18%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Blackhall Colliery, 18% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 30% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, the 173rd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Blackhall Colliery in age: Broughton (49.7), Burtonwood (49.7), Meopham (49.8) and Wadhurst (49.8).
No nearby town is as old as Blackhall Colliery
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackhall Colliery | 4,577 | — | 49.8 | 26% | 21% |
| Horden | 6,805 | 1.6 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 23% |
| Peterlee | 19,750 | 2.4 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Easington | 6,968 | 3.4 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 25% |
| Wingate | 5,033 | 3.9 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 29% |
| Shotton Colliery | 4,943 | 4.2 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 29% |
| Hartlepool | 88,001 | 5 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 28% |
| Trimdon Colliery | 1,788 | 5.1 mi | 43.4 | 20% | 26% |
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 Blackhall Colliery’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. Blackhall Colliery’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,777 people in 2021, against 4,577 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 Blackhall Colliery’s residents
What is the population of Blackhall Colliery?
The 2021 Census counted 4,577 people in Blackhall Colliery’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,900 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Blackhall Colliery?
The median age was 49.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blackhall Colliery?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Blackhall Colliery?
35% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Blackhall Colliery good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Blackhall Colliery’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.