Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns, at 0.9%
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Sherburn has 96%. At the 2021 Census, 2,796 people lived here, in 1,330 households. For Sherburn, the census puts households in flats at 3.7%. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 70% of UK towns.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.9% in Sherburn, less than in 76% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 47, Sherburn is older than 69% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 8.1% of residents. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sherburn, 47. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 4.4% in Sherburn, less than in 70% 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%.
In Sherburn, 28% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year account for 8%.
One-person households: 36%, a higher share than 92% 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.
In Sherburn the average household is 2.1 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. The census found that 24% of households have dependent children here. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Sherburn sits above 80% of UK towns for households without a car or van (22%)
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
Detached houses are home to 20% of households, against 21% across England’s towns. In one household in 5 there is no car or van.
3.5% born outside the UK, fewer than in 84% 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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 72% of UK towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 60%, a higher share than 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 Sherburn · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents with no religion (35%), Sherburn is below 84% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and African (0.3%).
11% of residents give unpaid care, a share 81% of UK towns don’t reach
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
The figure for adults who have never married is 33% in Sherburn and 39% across England’s towns. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%. Here, 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Among adults, 29% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
29% of Sherburn’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 23% have none (18%).
Ranked by age, 257th oldest of 514 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 Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Sherburn in age: Perranporth (46.8), Pen-pedair-heol (46.9), Marsden (47) and Codicote (47).
Sherburn sits below 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherburn | 2,796 | — | 47 | 25% | 24% |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 1.3 mi | 47.7 | 23% | 24% |
| High Shincliffe | 1,045 | 2 mi | 55.9 | 33% | 22% |
| Durham | 50,502 | 2.5 mi | 31.4 | 17% | 22% |
| Bowburn | 4,843 | 2.6 mi | 38.3 | 16% | 27% |
| West Rainton | 2,323 | 2.6 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Thornley | 2,543 | 3.1 mi | 45.1 | 21% | 26% |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 3.4 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 Sherburn’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 Sherburn’s residents
What is the population of Sherburn?
The 2021 Census counted 2,796 people in Sherburn’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sherburn?
The median age was 47 at the 2021 Census, older than 69% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sherburn?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sherburn?
35% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Sherburn good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sherburn’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.