Photo: peter robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households in flats than 98% of UK towns, at 1.6%
The median age in Kirk Merrington is 50.7, higher than in 88% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 752, in 366 households. On the census count, just over a fifth of households have dependent children. In Kirk Merrington the average household is 2.1 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns.
Kirk Merrington ranks below 93% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 7.9%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
29% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Kirk Merrington sits below 91% of UK towns for full-time students (3.7%)
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%.
33% of Kirk Merrington’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 26% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Fewer residents who moved in within the year than in 99% of UK towns: 5.6%. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.4% in Kirk Merrington, less than in 96% 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.
In Kirk Merrington, 34% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. Typically, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 36% in Kirk Merrington, more than in 91% 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
In Kirk Merrington, nearly a third of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. The census found that 14% of households have no car or van here.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 99% of UK towns: 1.3%
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%) and in EU countries (0.4%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English is 100%, against 90% across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns, at 99%
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: 99% of Kirk Merrington · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Asked about religion, 34% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. In Kirk Merrington, 62% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
In Kirk Merrington, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 62% of UK towns
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 23 people. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here 9.7% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%.
30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 30% of Kirk Merrington’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification (18%).
The towns around Kirk Merrington are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Merrington | 752 | — | 50.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 1.7 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Spennymoor | 20,401 | 1.8 mi | 42.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Ferryhill | 8,857 | 1.8 mi | 46.9 | 24% | 21% |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 1.8 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Cornforth | 2,424 | 3.6 mi | 47.9 | 25% | 20% |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 3.7 mi | 44 | 21% | 27% |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 3.9 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 24% |
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 Kirk Merrington’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 Kirk Merrington’s residents
What is the population of Kirk Merrington?
The 2021 Census counted 752 people in Kirk Merrington’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Kirk Merrington?
The median age was 50.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Kirk Merrington?
99% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 1.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Kirk Merrington?
34% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 3.1% didn’t answer.
Is Kirk Merrington good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Kirk Merrington’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.