Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0

47.9Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Who lives in Cornforth: a median age of 47.9, 1,187 households

Cornforth had 2,424 residents and 1,187 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 47.9. 4.5% were born outside the UK.

25%aged 65 or over 4.5%born abroad 1,187households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Cornforth’s people

12%of residents give unpaid care; England’s towns 8.7%

Many carers

270 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

A median age of 47.9

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

CornforthEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

The largest age band is 60–64: 7.8% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. 25% of Cornforth is 65 or over, against 21% across County Durham’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 248.4%

25 to 4423%

45 to 6428%

65 and over25%

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

49% women, 51% men

Cornforth

England

WomenMen

About 105 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

20% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs

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

Full-time students3.6%

Higher managerial and professional5.9%

Lower managerial and professional14%

Intermediate9.2%

Small employers and self-employed8.5%

Supervisory and technical8.7%

Semi-routine14%

Routine22%

Never worked or long-term unemployed14%

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Cornforth

9.2%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

217

residents, 9%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.3× England’s share

20% of Cornforth’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 36% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 9% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns.

Households

1,187 households: one in 3 is one person living alone

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 17%Living alone, under 66 23%Families with dependent children 20%Couples and families, no young children 39%Shared houses and other 1.2%

Against County Durham’s towns and England’s towns

Cornforth

County Durham’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person40%

2 people36%

3 people13%

4 people6.9%

5 or more4.3%

England’s towns.

Families with dependent children are 20% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 17% are someone 66 or over living alone (County Durham’s towns 14%). Households average 2 people.

Homes & cars

The most common home: a semi-detached house, for 60% of households

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Cornforth

County Durham’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van27%

One46%

Two22%

Three or more5.4%

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

3% of households live in a flat, less than in 93% of UK towns; 13% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in 4 has no car or van.

Where people were born

4.5% 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%

Cornforth

4.5%

County Durham’s towns

5.2%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

CornforthEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.1%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

4.5% of residents were born outside the UK, against 5.2% across County Durham’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). 17% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. 99% of residents have English as their main language.

Ethnicity & religion

54% said they are Christian and 38% that they have no religion

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

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.4%

Asian0.8%

Mixed1%

Black0.4%

Other0.3%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 95% of Cornforth · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion38%

Christian54%

Muslim0.3%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.5%

Other religion0.5%

Didn’t answer6.8%

0%30%60%

95% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 93% across County Durham’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and African (0.4%).

On religion, 38% answered “no religion” and 54% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership34%

Married or civil partnership43%

Separated3.2%

Divorced13%

Widowed8.1%

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

270residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 12%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week3.9%

20 to 49 hours2.9%

50 hours or more4.8%

34% of Cornforth’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 43% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. 112 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.

Qualifications

20% of adults have a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications28%

Apprenticeship6.8%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level20%

CornforthCounty Durham’s townsEngland’s towns

20% of Cornforth’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 28% have none (18%).

Neighbours

1 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Cornforth

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

CoxhoeFerryhillBishop MiddlehamKelloeBowburnChiltonTrimdonCornforth

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Cornforth	2,424	—	47.9	25%	20%
Coxhoe	4,542	1 mi	43.7	18%	28%
Ferryhill	8,857	1.8 mi	46.9	24%	21%
Bishop Middleham	1,136	1.9 mi	49	24%	24%
Kelloe	1,434	2.1 mi	46.1	22%	25%
Bowburn	4,843	2.6 mi	38.3	16%	27%
Chilton	4,693	3.3 mi	42.5	19%	25%
Trimdon	2,835	3.4 mi	44.5	21%	28%

More about Cornforth’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health D⁻Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute D⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living A⁻Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools BEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Cornforth’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 Cornforth’s residents

What is the population of Cornforth?

The 2021 Census counted 2,424 people in Cornforth’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Cornforth?

The median age was 47.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Cornforth?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Cornforth?

38% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.

Is Cornforth good for families?

20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cornforth’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.