Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 91% of UK towns: 28% of households have no car or van
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 93,022 people lived in Darlington, in 42,579 households. Across Darlington, 15% of households live in a detached house. The median age locally is 42.4, lower than in 66% of UK towns.
Slower than most: +5% since 2011, behind 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Darlington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 91,400 people in 2011; 95,800 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+25%) and the 16 to 29 group least (−7%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 1,270 more people.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 64% of UK towns: 20%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.2% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in 75% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Darlington, 42.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Darlington, 5.4% of adults are full-time students, more than in 71% 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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 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.
One-person households make up 35% in Darlington, more than in 89% 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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Here, 26% of households have dependent children. For comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 30% in Darlington, more than in 83% 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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment here. The usual figure: nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents whose main language is English than 77% of UK towns: 95%
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
22% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. On residents born outside the UK, Darlington sits higher than 67% of UK towns: 8.4%. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (4.5%), then in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%).
89% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 66% 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: 89% of Darlington · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, Darlington has 41%. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%. 1.9% of residents said their religion is Muslim.
Darlington ranks below 83% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 42%
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
2,678 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. More adults who have never married than in 77% of UK towns: 37%. As a reference point, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 9.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
27% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Darlington’s adults: 27% with a degree-level qualification and 20% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 36 in Albert Hill & Red Hall to 53 in Hummersknott
The town’s 13 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Hummersknott is the oldest area, with 32% aged 65 or over; Albert Hill & Red Hall the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Firthmoor (33% of households).
79 UK towns of 65,000 to 126,000 people: this is the 17th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Salford (29.8) and the oldest Paignton (48.4). Nearest to Darlington in age: Newcastle-under-Lyme (42), Hartlepool (42.3), Gosport (42.6) and Weston-super-Mare (43.1).
Of the 7 towns nearest Darlington, 6 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 93,022 | — | 42.4 | 20% | 26% |
| Hurworth-on-Tees | 2,667 | 3.3 mi | 50.5 | 29% | 25% |
| Middleton St George | 4,756 | 3.8 mi | 46 | 22% | 28% |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 5 mi | 50 | 28% | 26% |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 5.5 mi | 45.2 | 20% | 34% |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 6.4 mi | 44 | 21% | 27% |
| Gainford | 1,127 | 7.4 mi | 53.5 | 31% | 24% |
| Stillington | 1,407 | 7.4 mi | 40.4 | 15% | 36% |
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 Darlington’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. Darlington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 92,203 people in 2021, against 93,022 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 Darlington’s residents
What is the population of Darlington?
The 2021 Census counted 93,022 people in Darlington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 95,800 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Darlington?
The median age was 42.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 66% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Darlington?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 8.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Darlington?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.9% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Darlington good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Firthmoor (33% of households). Schools are on Darlington’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.