Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Durham is under 31.4, younger than 99% of UK towns
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 22% in Durham. On married adults and civil partners, Durham sits lower than 98% of UK towns: 34%. This County Durham town had 50,502 residents in 17,990 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 82% of residents describe themselves as White British locally.
What the Census says about Durham’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 15,702 full-time students aged 16 and over, 35% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 32% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Durham’s residents are under 31.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
23% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 2.1 times the share across England’s towns, and 9.5% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in County Durham
14% 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 the Middle East and Asia (6.7%) and in EU countries (4%). Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Durham grew +9% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Durham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 48,000 people in 2011; 52,400 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+22%), the 45 to 64 group the smallest (−9%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2022: 1,850 more people.
A young town: 32% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 17% in Durham. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Durham, 31.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 35% in Durham, more than in 99% 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%.
Leave the students aside and Durham’s other adults differ from England’s: 44% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year account for 23%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns: 11%
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.
One-person households make up 33%, against 30% across England’s towns. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Durham sits above 88% of UK towns for households without a car or van (26%)
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
The share of households in flats tops 65% of UK towns: 14%. Measured more widely, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Here, nearly a fifth of households live in a detached house. Just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house, more than in 51% of UK towns.
Durham ranks above 85% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 14%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (6.7%) and in EU countries (4%). Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 93%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. Since 2017: 51% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 57% of UK towns: 40%
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: 82% of Durham · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (5.7%), Chinese (3.5%) and Mixed or multiple (2.9%). Lower than in 70% of UK towns: 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Durham ranks above 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 54%
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
Students and young renters account for much of that. On the census count, 7.4% of residents give unpaid care.
36% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Durham’s adults: 36% with a degree-level qualification and 11% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. A levels top the qualifications of 34%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 22 in Durham City to 51 in Belmont & Carrville
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Belmont & Carrville is the oldest area, with 31% aged 65 or over; Durham City the youngest (median age 22). Students cluster in Durham City, where 80% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Aykley Heads, Neville's Cross & Langley Moor (29% of households).
3rd youngest of 135 UK towns of 35,000 to 68,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 54.4 in Lytham St Anne's. Nearest to Durham in age: Canterbury (27.5), Hatfield (30.3), Loughborough (31.4) and Smethwick (33.7).
Every nearby town is older than Durham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | 50,502 | — | 31.4 | 17% | 22% |
| High Shincliffe | 1,045 | 2.2 mi | 55.9 | 33% | 22% |
| Sherburn | 2,796 | 2.5 mi | 47 | 25% | 24% |
| Ushaw Moor and Bearpark | 6,483 | 2.7 mi | 40.8 | 17% | 27% |
| Brandon | 9,508 | 3.1 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 26% |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 3.3 mi | 47.7 | 23% | 24% |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 3.3 mi | 37.9 | 14% | 29% |
| Witton Gilbert | 2,525 | 3.3 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 27% |
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 Durham’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. Durham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 50,708 people in 2021, against 50,502 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 Durham’s residents
What is the population of Durham?
The 2021 Census counted 50,502 people in Durham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 52,400 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Durham?
The median age was 31.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 32% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
Is Durham a student town?
Yes: 35% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (15,702 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Durham City, 80% of adults were students.
How diverse is Durham?
82% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Durham?
40% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 8.7% didn’t answer.
Is Durham good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Aykley Heads, Neville's Cross & Langley Moor (29% of households). Schools are on Durham’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.