Photo: DabbyNorthmead · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer flats than 96% of UK towns: 2.3% of households
1.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The median age in Heighington is 50, higher than in 84% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 1,548 residents and 696 households in the village. The census found that nearly a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in the village.
What the Census says about Heighington’s people
Many carers
170 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 93% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Below 94% of UK towns: 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. 28% of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 84% of UK towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
Full-time students make up 4% in Heighington, less than in 85% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 12%, above 89% of UK towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
27% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 72% 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.
Households with dependent children: 26%, below 61% of UK towns. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
Fewer households without a car or van than 90% of UK towns: 8.3%
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 detached houses is 45%, against 21% across England’s towns. On average, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Heighington sits above 97% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.9%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are scarce here: 3.4%, fewer than in 86% of UK towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 97% in Heighington, 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 Heighington · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents with no religion (32%), Heighington is below 91% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 73% across England’s towns. Here, 63% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
58% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Here 12% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Some 49 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
41% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 41% of its adults qualified to degree level, Heighington compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 13% hold no qualification (18%).
No nearby town is as old as Heighington
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heighington | 1,548 | — | 50 | 28% | 26% |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 1.2 mi | 45.2 | 20% | 34% |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 2.6 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 24% |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 2.7 mi | 44 | 21% | 27% |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.6 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 27% |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 4.8 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 27% |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 4.9 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Darlington | 93,022 | 5 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Heighington’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 Heighington’s residents
What is the population of Heighington?
The 2021 Census counted 1,548 people in Heighington’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Heighington?
The median age was 50 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Heighington?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Heighington?
32% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.2% didn’t answer.
Is Heighington good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Heighington’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.