Photo: David Robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in terraced houses: 43%, a higher share than 96% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 84% of UK towns. Newton Aycliffe had 25,760 residents in 11,531 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 4.8% of households live in a flat or apartment. The share of unpaid carers is 11%, against 8.7% across England’s towns.
From 2011 to 2024, 72% of UK towns grew faster than Newton Aycliffe: +3%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Newton Aycliffe’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 25,700 people in 2011; 26,500 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+26%); the 45 to 64 group moved least (−5%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2023: 430 more people.
A young town: 11% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Newton Aycliffe’s residents are under 44, younger than in 54% of UK towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 8% of residents. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Newton Aycliffe, 44. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Newton Aycliffe, 5.5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 74% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Newton Aycliffe, 25% and 33%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison. On the census count, 7.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 76% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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 figure for one-person households is 32% in Newton Aycliffe and 30% across England’s towns. Locally, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
More car-free households than 89% of UK towns: 26% in Newton Aycliffe
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
Where 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Newton Aycliffe has 23%. To put it in context, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Only 4.3% of residents were born outside the UK in Newton Aycliffe
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Newton Aycliffe has 98%.
Newton Aycliffe sits above 62% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (52%)
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 Newton Aycliffe · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion is 42%, against 37% across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.3%). On average, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
In Newton Aycliffe, 34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 61% 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
On married adults and civil partners, 44% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 977 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
23% of adults have qualifications at 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 Newton Aycliffe, 23%, and 21% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 35 in Newton Aycliffe West to 48 in Newton Aycliffe North
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Newton Aycliffe North is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Newton Aycliffe West the youngest (median age 35). Families with children are most common in Newton Aycliffe West (34% of households).
99th highest median age among 260 UK towns of 18,000 to 35,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Newton Aycliffe in age: Faversham (43.8), Maesteg (43.8), Cleethorpes (44) and Hindley (44).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Newton Aycliffe
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | — | 44 | 21% | 27% |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 1.5 mi | 45.2 | 20% | 34% |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 2.7 mi | 50 | 28% | 26% |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 2.7 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 2.7 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 24% |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 3.5 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Ferryhill | 8,857 | 4.5 mi | 46.9 | 24% | 21% |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.6 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 27% |
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 Newton Aycliffe’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. Newton Aycliffe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 25,607 people in 2021, against 25,760 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 Newton Aycliffe’s residents
What is the population of Newton Aycliffe?
The 2021 Census counted 25,760 people in Newton Aycliffe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 26,500 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Newton Aycliffe?
The median age was 44 at the 2021 Census, younger than 54% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Newton Aycliffe?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Newton Aycliffe?
42% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Newton Aycliffe good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Newton Aycliffe West (34% of households). Schools are on Newton Aycliffe’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.