Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Shadforth is older than 96% of UK towns: a median age of 54.5
Here 0.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. 21% of households have dependent children. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 91% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Shadforth’s population at 270, in 117 households.
Above 74% of UK towns: 25% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 13% of residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. Locally, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
5.1% of adults are full-time students, more than in 61% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 48% of Shadforth’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 14%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The census found that 8.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 0.9%, a lower share than 99% 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.
By its share of one-person households (21%), Shadforth is below 97% of UK towns. Typically, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
In Shadforth, 46% of households live in a detached house, more than in 86% 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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, just over one in ten households have no car or van in Shadforth. In Shadforth, 16% of households live in a terraced house. 0.9% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 46% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 2.2%, a lower share than 98% of UK towns
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 largest groups were born in EU countries (0.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 100% here, more than in 99% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
60% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 94% 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: 96% of Shadforth · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (1.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Caribbean (0.4%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 35% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 81% of UK towns.
Shadforth ranks below 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 20%
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
Married adults and civil partners: 61%, above 99% of UK towns. Fewer unpaid carers than in 64% of UK towns: 8.9%. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Some 7 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
49% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 49% of its adults qualified to degree level, Shadforth compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 12% hold no qualification (18%).
1 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Shadforth
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadforth | 270 | — | 54.5 | 25% | 21% |
| Thornley | 2,543 | 1.3 mi | 45.1 | 21% | 26% |
| Sherburn | 2,796 | 1.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 24% |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 2.2 mi | 47.7 | 23% | 24% |
| Haswell | 1,185 | 2.5 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 26% |
| Wheatley Hill | 3,148 | 2.5 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Bowburn | 4,843 | 2.7 mi | 38.3 | 16% | 27% |
| High Shincliffe | 1,045 | 2.9 mi | 55.9 | 33% | 22% |
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 Shadforth’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 Shadforth’s residents
What is the population of Shadforth?
The 2021 Census counted 270 people in Shadforth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shadforth?
The median age was 54.5 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shadforth?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shadforth?
35% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Shadforth good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shadforth’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.