Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0More people live alone than in 95% of UK towns: 38% of households
Compared with 44% across England’s towns, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership here. 9,508 residents in 4,485 households: that is Brandon at the 2021 Census. The share of households without a car or van stands at 26%. With a median age of 42.6, Brandon is younger than 65% of UK towns.
Brandon ranks below 66% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 20%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.3% of residents. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is higher than in 73% of UK towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Brandon, 42.6. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
6.5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 88% 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%.
Just over a quarter of Brandon’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in 71% of UK towns. On average, 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.
Brandon 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 two thirds of UK towns: 26%. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 1.7%.
Households in terraced houses make up 27% in Brandon, more than in 75% of UK towns
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
With households in detached houses at 19%, Brandon is behind 75% of UK towns on that count. To put it in context, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Here, one in ten households live in a flat or apartment.
In Brandon, 97% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 60% 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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 27% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). 6.2% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 52% of UK towns.
Brandon sits above 73% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (53%)
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: 93% of Brandon · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and African (0.7%). The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 56% of UK towns: 93%. Two in five residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%.
10% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 77% 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
Where nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, Brandon has 38%. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 331 residents.
Degree-level qualifications: 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
22% of Brandon’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 28% have one at degree level (34%). Many still at university: 18% list A levels as their highest qualification.
Among 413 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people, the 129th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Seaton (61). Nearest to Brandon in age: Earl Shilton (42.5), Dursley (42.5), Clayton-le-Moors (42.6) and Cleckheaton (42.6).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Brandon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon | 9,508 | — | 42.6 | 20% | 26% |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 1.5 mi | 37.9 | 14% | 29% |
| Ushaw Moor and Bearpark | 6,483 | 2.1 mi | 40.8 | 17% | 27% |
| Durham | 50,502 | 3.1 mi | 31.4 | 17% | 22% |
| Spennymoor | 20,401 | 3.4 mi | 42.1 | 20% | 27% |
| High Shincliffe | 1,045 | 3.4 mi | 55.9 | 33% | 22% |
| Willington | 5,685 | 3.7 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Esh Winning | 3,877 | 3.7 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 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 Brandon’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 Brandon’s residents
What is the population of Brandon?
The 2021 Census counted 9,508 people in Brandon’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Brandon?
The median age was 42.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 65% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Brandon?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Brandon?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Brandon good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Brandon’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.