Photo: Dave Eagle · CC BY-SA 2.01.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
With a median age of 49.4, Great Lumley is older than 82% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 3,627, in 1,667 households. For Great Lumley, the census puts residents who describe themselves as Christian at 57%. Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; locally, 5.8%.
What the Census says about Great Lumley’s people
Many carers
427 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 98% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
27% of Great Lumley is 65 or over, a higher share than 83% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 12%; Great Lumley has 9.2%. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Great Lumley, 49.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 89% of UK towns: 6.8%
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Great Lumley, 34% and 23%. As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. For Great Lumley, the census puts full-time students at 5%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Great Lumley ranks below 76% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 25%
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.
A household here has 2.2 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. For Great Lumley, the census puts one-person households at 30%. The share of households with dependent children across England’s towns is 29%.
In Great Lumley, 12% of households live in a terraced house, fewer 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
21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 23% in Great Lumley. Set beside that, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. On the census count, nearly a fifth of households have no car or van.
In Great Lumley, 2.8% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 94% of UK towns
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%) and in EU countries (0.6%). 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 94% of UK towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
In Great Lumley, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 96% 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: 97% of Great Lumley · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 37%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Mixed or multiple (0.8%), Other White (0.8%) and Indian (0.6%).
Great Lumley sits above 98% of UK towns for unpaid carers (12%)
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
141 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. On married adults and civil partners, Great Lumley sits higher than 72% of UK towns: 52%. The share of unpaid carers across England’s towns is 8.7%. Across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; locally, 29%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 31% of adults in Great Lumley (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 20% (England’s towns: 18%).
530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people: this is the 149th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Great Lumley in age: Lower Nazeing (49.3), Purton (49.3), Madeley (49.4) and Ellesmere (49.4).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than Great Lumley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Lumley | 3,627 | — | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Bournmoor | 1,991 | 1.5 mi | 51.9 | 29% | 23% |
| Fence Houses | 6,945 | 1.7 mi | 40.5 | 16% | 30% |
| Chester-le-Street | 23,554 | 1.9 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 24% |
| West Rainton | 2,323 | 2.3 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 21% |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 2.7 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Houghton-le-Spring | 12,552 | 2.8 mi | 42.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Shiney Row and Penshaw | 16,900 | 2.9 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 29% |
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 Great Lumley’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 Great Lumley’s residents
What is the population of Great Lumley?
The 2021 Census counted 3,627 people in Great Lumley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Great Lumley?
The median age was 49.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 82% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Great Lumley?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Great Lumley?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4% didn’t answer.
Is Great Lumley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Great Lumley’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.