War Memorial, Village Green · Photo: Richard Cooke · CC BY-SA 2.0Murton ranks below 98% of UK towns on shared households of unrelated adults: 1.2%
Households in flats: 4.2% here and 23% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Murton was home to 7,239 people in 3,398 households. Census figures put households without a car or van at 29% in the town. This County Durham town has more residents who describe themselves as White British than 94% of UK towns, at 97%.
±0% since 2011: slower than 85% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Murton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,000 people in 2011; 8,000 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+13%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−26%).
Murton is younger than 64% of UK towns: a median age of 42.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
A fifth of Murton is 65 or over, against 21% across County Durham’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest age band is 55–59: 7.4% of residents. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 9.7% here, fewer than in 53% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Murton, 42.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 61% of UK towns: 4.6%
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%.
Where 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Murton has 8.1%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
More people live alone than in 88% of UK towns: 35% of households
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.
The average household has 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: 27% of the total. One-person households: 30% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Households in detached houses: 9.9%, a lower share than 94% 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
Households in terraced houses: 38% here and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 90% of UK towns, at 3.1%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On residents whose main language is English, Murton sits higher than 65% of UK towns: 98%. Since 2017: 13% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 90% of UK towns: 58%
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 Murton · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Chinese (0.4%). Fewer residents with no religion than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 37%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Murton ranks below 88% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 41%
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 carers: 10% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
21% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Murton, 21%, and 25% have none, against 18%.
538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people: this is the 154th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Red Lodge (30.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Murton in age: Clayton-le-Moors (42.6), Long Ashton (42.6), Rishton (42.7) and Thrybergh and Dalton (42.7).
Murton sits below 5 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murton | 7,239 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 27% |
| South Hetton | 2,877 | 1.5 mi | 42.3 | 17% | 28% |
| Easington Lane | 4,170 | 1.9 mi | 35.8 | 13% | 33% |
| Seaham | 21,660 | 1.9 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 28% |
| Hetton-le-Hole | 8,968 | 2.4 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 24% |
| Haswell | 1,185 | 2.6 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 26% |
| Easington | 6,968 | 3.1 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 25% |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 3.5 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 25% |
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 Murton’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Murton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,615 people in 2021, against 7,239 in the built-up area.
- 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 Murton’s residents
What is the population of Murton?
The 2021 Census counted 7,239 people in Murton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,000 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Murton?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Murton?
97% 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 Murton?
37% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Murton good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Murton’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.