Durham grades B+ overall against UK towns: better than 70% of UK towns, and #6 of 52 in County Durham. Its strongest subject is schools (A): primary results beat 91% of towns in England; secondary results beat 85% of towns in England. Its weakest is safety (D): 40.6 violent and sexual offences and 16.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 58%. The median home sold for £220,000 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the County Durham council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Durham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Durham.
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Durham: 32% are 15 to 24, above County Durham’s towns and England’s towns
In the comparison, Durham comes above both County Durham’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Children are 11% of the town. Half the people of Durham are older than 31.4.
31.4median age
DurhamCounty DurhamEngland
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications11%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar34%
Degree level36%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 21 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
Durham is more walkable than 90% of UK towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 39% of workers, above both County Durham’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (31%). At the census, 25% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Safety
Durham has more crime per resident than 86% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 40.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above both County Durham’s towns (35.8) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 5,258 crimes inside Durham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1,144 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 37% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
40.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 58% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,958
Shoplifting1,125
Public order556
Damage & arson442
Other theft341
Burglary222
Other crime163
Vehicle crime156
Anti-social1,144
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
40.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.7
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
20.1
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
History
447 listed buildings, 40 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Durham has 447 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 40 Grade I, 24 Grade II*. It is part of the Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site. For its size, Durham has 89 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both County Durham’s towns (7) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Bad health is less common in Durham than in County Durham’s towns or across England’s towns: 4.3% of residents
For Durham, that is below both County Durham’s towns (7.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Women here live to 82.3 on average and men to 78.2 (2019–23). These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Anthony Eden: Walter Stoneman, Public domain · Steph Houghton: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Archie Gray: Jim Easton, CC0 · Gem Archer: Solly_Darling on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Robert Ker Porter: Thomas Woolnoth / George Henry Harlow, Public domain
High Shincliffe, High Pittington and New Brancepeth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Durham
How many listed buildings are there in Durham?
That is 3.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Castle Gatehouse, Entrance Gateway, Side Walls, Linking Walls and Front Wall. It also has 6 scheduled monuments. Part of it is in the Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site.
Are schools in Durham good?
GCSE results beat 85% of towns in England, and primary results beat 91% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Durham safe?
About the middle for its size: 42% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
About Durham
Large town in County Durham, England
Durham is a built-up area of 50,502 people, in the County Durham council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Population
50,502 (Census 2021)
Council
County Durham
County
County Durham
Region
North East
Area
5.7 sq mi (14.8 km²)
ONS code
E63000190
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
