Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Across Durham, life expectancy spans 9 years from one area to another
Inside the town, men’s life expectancy runs from 72.5 in Durham City to 81.6 in Newton Hall & Brasside, 2 miles apart. Life expectancy is 78.2 for men and 82.3 for women. England as a whole stood at 79.1 and 83.0 over 2019 to 2023. Durham grades C for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #8 of 52 in County Durham.
What stands out about health in Durham
A 9-year gap from one part of Durham to another
Men in Newton Hall & Brasside can expect to live to 81.6, longer than the English average of 79.1. In Durham City, 2 miles away, the figure is 72.5, and Gilesgate & Old Durham records 162 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected for its ages. For women the range is 80.4 in Gilesgate & Old Durham to 84.6 in Newton Hall & Brasside. Neighbourhoods ↓
Men live shorter lives than Durham’s level of deprivation would suggest
10% of Durham’s residents are income-deprived. Across England’s towns that predicts men’s life expectancy of 81.7; Durham’s is 78.2. For its circumstances ↓
Written from the OHID, NHS England and GP Patient Survey figures on this page. Life expectancy covers 2019 to 2023; neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people.
Durham grades C for health
Healthier than 30% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
What holds the grade back: preventable deaths and men’s years in good health (better than 18% and 20% of UK towns). What lifts it: emergency admissions (51%) and child obesity (45%). Among the 153 UK towns of 35,000 to 68,000 people, Durham’s Health Grade is the 51st highest.
Each measure is ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, the ranks are averaged, and the average is ranked again. Every measure allows for the town’s ages: life expectancy is worked out from the death rate at each age, so it doesn’t depend on how old the town’s residents are; deaths and admissions are counted against what England’s rates would give a town with these ages, and the Census answers against England and Wales’s rates by single year of age, so a seaside town of retired people isn’t marked down for being old.
Men’s life expectancy across Durham runs from 72.5 to 81.6
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Durham’s 6 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
The gap follows deprivation less closely inside Durham than across England. Belmont & Carrville, where 10% of residents are income-deprived, has men’s life expectancy of 81.4, among the town’s longest; Durham City, with 3.3%, has the shortest. Gilesgate & Old Durham has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (162 per 100 expected), against 71 in Newton Hall & Brasside.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Hall & Brasside | 81.6 | 84.6 | 71 | 81 | 16% | 6.3% |
| Aykley Heads, Neville's Cross & Langley Moor | 81.5 | 83.0 | 72 | 75 | 12% | 1.9% |
| Belmont & Carrville | 81.4 | 82.0 | 92 | 89 | 24% | 10% |
| Pity Me & Framwellgate Moor | 80.5 | 82.6 | 104 | 108 | 22% | 18% |
| Gilesgate & Old Durham | 74.6 | 80.4 | 162 | 112 | 26% | 34% |
| Durham City | 72.5 | 81.5 | 121 | 73 | — | 3.3% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Durham City’s men’s life expectancy is 72.5 with a 95% range of 70.0 to 75.1. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Durham; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Men’s life expectancy in Durham is 3.5 years below what its level of deprivation predicts
Across 1,996 English towns of 2,500 or more, men’s life expectancy tracks income deprivation closely (correlation −0.81). Each dot is a town.
10% of Durham’s residents are income-deprived, less than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 81.7 years for men; Durham’s is 78.2. For women it predicts 85.1, and Durham’s 82.3 is 2.8 years below.
Income deprivation: share of residents in low-income households, English Indices of Deprivation 2025, averaged over each town’s neighbourhoods. A town above or below the line isn’t necessarily doing better or worse on care: students, prisons and hostels inside a boundary all shift the figures.
Care in and near Durham
The nearest A&E, the practice patients rate highest, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
County Durham and Darlington saw 58% of major-A&E patients within four hours
Type 1 (major) A&E attendances seen, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival, by month. NHS England publishes it by trust, not hospital: County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at University Hospital North Durham, the nearest to Durham (1.1 mi).
The share seen within four hours slipped from an average of 62% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 58% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 90% of trusts: 349 patients in 12 months, 0.7% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for University Hospital North Durham: urgent and emergency services good (2025), the hospital overall good (2026).
North East and Yorkshire trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 mi | University Hospital North Durham A&E Durham · County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust | Good2026 | Good2025 |
| 9.6 mi | Peterlee Community Hospital Peterlee · County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 11 mi | Sunderland Royal Hospital A&E Sunderland · South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS FT | Requires improvement2023 | Requires improvement2020 |
| 11 mi | Queen Elizabeth Hospital A&E Gateshead · Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust | Good2023 | Good2016 |
| 11 mi | Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital Sunderland · South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS FT | Good2020 | — |
| 12 mi | Shotley Bridge Community Hospital Durham · County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 14 mi | Royal Victoria Infirmary A&E Newcastle Upon Tyne · The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | Requires improvement2024 |
| 14 mi | Dental Hospital Newcastle Upon Tyne · The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Outstanding2016 | — |
NHS acute hospitals registered with the Care Quality Commission (care directory, 01 October 2026). “A&E” marks a major (type 1) emergency department, open 24 hours and led by consultants, in NHS England’s Emergency Care Data Set; a hospital without the mark may still have a minor injury unit or urgent treatment centre. Ratings run Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate; the year is when each was published. Distances are straight lines from the town centre.
78% of patients rate Durham’s 3 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 57th of 127 English towns of 35,000 to 68,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheveley Park Medical Centre DH1 2UW · 4,197 adult patients | 91% good · range 85%–95% | 70% | 70% | Not rated |
| Chastleton Medical Group DH1 5BH · 8,647 adult patients | 84% good · range 72%–91% | 53% | 84% | Good2016 |
| Claypath and University Medical Group DH1 1QW · 29,026 adult patients | 74% good · range 49%–89% | 76% | 73% | Good2016 |
Cheveley Park Medical Centre has the town’s highest rating (91%). Claypath and University Medical Group is by far the largest, with 29,026 adult patients. You can register with any practice whose area covers your address.
GP Patient Survey 2026: surveys sent January to March 2026; results weighted by NHS England. The range is the 95% confidence interval. Adult patients: the survey’s practice population aged 16 and over. A practice counts as in Durham when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
77% of adults in the North East and North Cumbria area who tried got an NHS dental appointment
Adults who tried to get an NHS dental appointment for themselves in the last two years, and got one. GP Patient Survey 2026, by integrated care system (the NHS area that plans dentistry for Durham).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of North East and North Cumbria patients who did, 71% rated the experience good (England 74%). NHS practices taking new patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist; for urgent dental pain, call NHS 111.
The survey asks GP patients about dentistry, so results are published for health areas, not towns or practices.
More people in Durham call their health good than across County Durham
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 91 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Durham | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 77% | 82% |
| Fair health | 11% | 15% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 18% | 22% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 6.5% | 10% | 7.4% |
County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Durham’s Health Grade is 51st of 153 UK towns of 35,000 to 68,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Durham, and others in County Durham. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fleet Hampshire | 37,800 | 83.3 / 85.7 | 58 | A+ |
| 2 | Wokingham Berkshire | 50,320 | 82.7 / 86.1 | 67 | A+ |
| 3 | West Molesey Surrey | 47,144 | 82.5 / 86.3 | 63 | A |
| … | |||||
| 49 | Metropolitan Castlereagh Lisburn and Castlereagh | 58,763 | 80.7 / 83.9 | — | C |
| 50 | Weymouth Dorset | 55,540 | 79.4 / 83.6 | 99 | C |
| 51 | Durham County Durham | 50,502 | 78.2 / 82.3 | 103 | C |
| 52 | Carlton Nottinghamshire | 53,555 | 79.0 / 82.7 | 98 | C |
| 53 | Taunton Somerset | 61,667 | 78.8 / 83.9 | 101 | C |
| … | |||||
| 153 | Greenock Inverclyde | 42,870 | 73.5 / 78.2 | — | D− |
Health letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only. Welsh towns are graded on life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and the two Census measures: OHID’s early-death, admissions and child-obesity figures cover England.
Health in the places around Durham
Life expectancy for men / women, and the nearest A&E. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | People | Life expectancy | Nearest A&E | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | 50,502 | 78.2 / 82.3 | 1.1 mi | C |
| High Shincliffe | 1,045 | 79.4 / 81.4 | 3.3 mi | C+ |
| Sherburn | 2,796 | 79.2 / 82.2 | 3.6 mi | C− |
| Ushaw Moor and Bearpark | 6,483 | 76.8 / 82.4 | 1.8 mi | D |
| Brandon | 9,508 | 76.5 / 80.5 | 2.9 mi | D |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 79.2 / 82.2 | 4.2 mi | C− |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 77.3 / 82.4 | 2.6 mi | D |
| Witton Gilbert | 2,525 | 76.5 / 82.5 | 2.2 mi | D |
Brandon, 3.1 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 76.5, 1.7 years shorter than Durham’s.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A&E figures are for the trust. NHS England publishes four-hour waits by trust, not hospital, so County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s figures cover every major A&E it runs. They count type 1 (major) departments; minor injury units and urgent treatment centres are left out, which is why they sit below the all-types figure NHS England headlines (75% for England).
- The GP survey is a survey. About 100 patients answer for each practice, so a practice’s figure has a range (shown in the table); small differences between practices aren’t meaningful. The town figure weights each practice by its adult patients, some of whom live outside Durham.
- Adjusted for age. A ratio of 100 means as many deaths, admissions or reports of bad health as England’s rates (England and Wales’s for the Census) would give a town with these ages; 120 means a fifth more.
- Small areas, summed to the town. OHID publishes these figures for middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people; the town’s figure averages the areas it covers, weighted by how many of their residents live in it, so a village shares its area’s figure with the countryside around it.
- Different years. Life expectancy and deaths cover 2019 to 2023; emergency admissions 2016/17 to 2020/21 (the latest OHID publishes for small areas, including the pandemic dip); child obesity the three school years to 2024/25; A&E the 12 months to September 2026; the GP Patient Survey early 2026; CQC ratings were published on different dates, shown in each row.
- Distances are straight lines. Miles are measured from the town’s centre to each site; the road is longer. For an emergency, call 999; for urgent advice, call NHS 111.
Questions about health in Durham
How healthy is Durham?
Durham earns a C for health, healthier than 30% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 51st of 153 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 78.2 for men and 82.3 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 103 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
Which parts of Durham have the highest life expectancy?
For men, Newton Hall & Brasside (81.6), Aykley Heads, Neville's Cross & Langley Moor (81.5) and Belmont & Carrville (81.4); the shortest is Durham City (72.5). For women, Newton Hall & Brasside is highest (84.6) and Gilesgate & Old Durham lowest (80.4). OHID figures for 2019 to 2023, by neighbourhood of about 8,000 people.
How long are A&E waits at University Hospital North Durham?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 58% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 59%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Durham?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 77% of adults in the North East and North Cumbria area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years got one, against 82% across England. Practices taking new NHS patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist service.
Which GP practice in Durham do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, Cheveley Park Medical Centre (91% good overall), Chastleton Medical Group (84% good overall) and Claypath and University Medical Group (74% good overall). Across all 3 Durham practices, 78% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Durham?
78.2 years for men and 82.3 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 63.5 of those years and women 66.8 in good health.
CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
Sources: OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (life expectancy and deaths 2019–23, emergency admissions 2016/17–2020/21, NCMP 2022/23–2024/25); House of Commons Library MSOA names · ONS health state life expectancy for small areas (MSOAs), England and Wales, 2019 to 2023 (healthy life expectancy) · ONS Census 2021 general health and disability, adjusted for age · Care Quality Commission care directory and latest ratings, 01 October 2026 · NHS Organisation Data Service · GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos) · NHS England, A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions (monthly, by trust) and Emergency Care Data Set activity by site, June–September 2026 (type 1 A&Es) · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025 · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.