Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 52.2: Lanchester is older than 92% of UK towns
Just over two thirds of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 1.1%. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 24% here, fewer than in 95% of UK towns. There were 1,664 households in Lanchester at the 2021 Census, home to 3,510 residents.
What the Census says about Lanchester’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Lanchester’s residents are under 52.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% 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).
7.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 8.4% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The census found that nearly a third of residents are 65 or over in Lanchester.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lanchester, 52.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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 6.1% in Lanchester, less than in 96% 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%.
By its share of full-time students (4.2%), Lanchester is below three quarters of UK towns. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 86% of UK towns, at 23%
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: 34%, above 82% of UK towns. For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%. The average household has 2.1 people.
Lanchester sits below 83% of UK towns for households in flats (5.1%)
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 24% across England’s towns, 16% of households have no car or van in Lanchester. Still, on households in terraced houses, Lanchester sits lower than 62% of UK towns: 17%. The benchmark for households in flats across England’s towns: 23%. Households in detached houses: 25% of the total.
Only 3.1% of Lanchester’s residents were born outside the UK
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
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 9.7%. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The census found that 99% of residents have English as their main language in Lanchester.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 97% of UK towns, at 26%
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: 96% of Lanchester · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as White British (96%), Lanchester is above 89% of UK towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.3%). Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 84% of UK towns: 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
Some 132 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. More unpaid carers than in 90% of UK towns: 11%.
Among adults, 41% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
41% of Lanchester’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have none (18%).
100th highest median age among 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Lanchester in age: Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (52), West Kingsdown (52.1), Carleton (52.2) and Wirksworth (52.2).
Every neighbour of Lanchester has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lanchester | 3,510 | — | 52.2 | 32% | 23% |
| Burnhope | 1,465 | 1.5 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 27% |
| Annfield Plain | 7,786 | 2.7 mi | 42 | 20% | 25% |
| Langley Park | 4,031 | 3.2 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 25% |
| Leadgate | 3,339 | 3.6 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 25% |
| Esh Winning | 3,877 | 3.7 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 25% |
| Stanley | 19,423 | 3.7 mi | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Dipton | 2,653 | 4.1 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 27% |
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 Lanchester’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 Lanchester’s residents
What is the population of Lanchester?
The 2021 Census counted 3,510 people in Lanchester’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Lanchester?
The median age was 52.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 92% of UK towns. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lanchester?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lanchester?
26% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Lanchester good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lanchester’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.