Photo: Roger Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 97% of UK towns: half of High Shincliffe is over 55.9
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 1.3% in High Shincliffe and 4.3% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,045, in 474 households. In High Shincliffe, 6.8% of households have no car or van. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 67%, more than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about High Shincliffe’s people
Older than most towns
Half of High Shincliffe’s residents are under 55.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
High Shincliffe sits above 96% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (33%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In High Shincliffe, 7.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 4.8% in High Shincliffe, less 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%.
5.1% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. On average, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 22% of households in High Shincliffe have dependent children
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.
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in High Shincliffe comes in at 26%. On average, 2.2 people share a household. Across the comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
1.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 98% 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
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 62% of households live in a detached house in High Shincliffe. Across the comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Here, 14% of households live in a terraced house.
Residents born outside the UK: 7.9%, a higher share than 63% 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
With residents whose main language is English at 97%, High Shincliffe is behind 62% of UK towns on that count. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (2.8%) and in EU countries (2.5%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 96% of UK towns, at 62%
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: 91% of High Shincliffe · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In High Shincliffe, just over nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British, beside 73% across England’s towns. The census found that 31% of residents said they have no religion here. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.
High Shincliffe ranks below 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 17%
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
35 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. Unpaid carers: 9.3%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 59%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 59% of its adults qualified to degree level, High Shincliffe compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 10% hold no qualification (18%).
Every neighbour of High Shincliffe has a younger population
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 High Shincliffe’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 High Shincliffe’s residents
What is the population of High Shincliffe?
The 2021 Census counted 1,045 people in High Shincliffe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in High Shincliffe?
The median age was 55.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is High Shincliffe?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 7.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in High Shincliffe?
31% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 4.1% didn’t answer.
Is High Shincliffe good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on High Shincliffe’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.