Photo: peter robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households without a car or van than 96% of UK towns, at 31%
With shared households of unrelated adults at 1.5%, Peterlee is behind 90% of UK towns on that count. This County Durham town counted 19,750 residents and 8,741 households at the 2021 Census. Households in terraced houses: 33% of the total. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 97%, more than in 98% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Peterlee’s people
Many carers
2,190 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Peterlee’s population moved +3% on 2011, less than in 72% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Peterlee’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 20,200 people in 2011; 20,800 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2020 to mid-2021, 300 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+21%) and 45 to 64 least (−5%).
Younger than 74% of UK towns: half of Peterlee is under 41.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over; in Peterlee, 19%. Locally, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Peterlee, 41.1. 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.
More students than 86% of UK towns: 6.2% of adults in Peterlee
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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Peterlee comes in at 9.1%. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 66% 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.
30% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. The census found that 31% of households are one person living alone in Peterlee.
Below 81% of UK towns: 5.4% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
The figure for households in detached houses is 19% in Peterlee and 21% across England’s towns. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 97% of UK towns: 2.4%
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
In Peterlee, 99% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.3%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
No religion: 44% of residents, a higher share than 70% of UK towns
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 Peterlee · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Peterlee, half of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A larger share of unpaid carers than 95% of UK towns: 12%
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
40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners are rarer here than in 92% of UK towns. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 852.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 20%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
25% of Peterlee’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 20% have one at degree level (34%). Many of the 19% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
From a median age of 35 in Peterlee East to 49 in Peterlee South
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.
Peterlee South is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Peterlee East the youngest (median age 35). Families with children are most common in Peterlee East (33% of households).
Ranked by age, 69th youngest of 310 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest South Hayling (57.2). Nearest to Peterlee in age: Ashford (40.9), Westbury (40.9), Stalybridge (41.1) and Litherland (41.1).
Peterlee and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterlee | 19,750 | — | 41.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Horden | 6,805 | 1.1 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 23% |
| Easington | 6,968 | 1.7 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 25% |
| Shotton Colliery | 4,943 | 1.9 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 29% |
| Blackhall Colliery | 4,577 | 2.4 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 21% |
| Wingate | 5,033 | 2.6 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 29% |
| Wheatley Hill | 3,148 | 3.3 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Haswell | 1,185 | 3.4 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 26% |
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 Peterlee’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. Peterlee’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 20,331 people in 2021, against 19,750 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 Peterlee’s residents
What is the population of Peterlee?
The 2021 Census counted 19,750 people in Peterlee’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 20,800 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Peterlee?
The median age was 41.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 74% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Peterlee?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Peterlee?
44% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.
Is Peterlee good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Peterlee East (33% of households). Schools are on Peterlee’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.