Photo: David Robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of one-person households than 98% of UK towns: 40%
Households in detached houses: 13%, below 89% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Shildon was home to 9,650 people in 4,594 households. In Shildon, 3.5% of households live in a flat or apartment. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in 95% of UK towns: 38%.
What the Census says about Shildon’s people
Many carers
1,030 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 91% 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.
+4% since 2011: slower than 68% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Shildon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,300 people in 2011; 10,700 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 180 people. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+19%) and the 16 to 29 group least (−10%).
Shildon is younger than 62% of UK towns: a median age of 42.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.7% of residents. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 64% of UK towns: 10%. 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 20% in Shildon.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Shildon, 42.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 53% of UK towns, at 4.8%
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%.
Compared with 11% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 94% of UK towns: 2.1 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.
By its share of shared households of unrelated adults (1.9%), Shildon is below nearly three quarters of UK towns. Across Shildon, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children.
More households in terraced houses than 98% of UK towns: 53%
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
Just over a third of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns.
Only 3.2% of Shildon’s residents were born outside the UK
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
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 16% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). Higher than in 81% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%).
97% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
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 Shildon · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Asked about religion, 42% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian stands at 52%.
More unpaid carers than 91% of UK towns: 11% of residents
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
With adults who have never married at 40%, Shildon is ahead of 89% of UK towns on that count. Set beside that, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 394.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 18% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 18% of Shildon’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 27% have no qualification (18%).
141st lowest median age among 413 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Seaton (61), the oldest. Nearest to Shildon in age: Houghton-le-Spring (42.8), Chatteris (42.8), Rainworth (42.9) and Ruddington (42.9).
A younger town than 5 of the 7 around it: Shildon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shildon | 9,650 | — | 42.9 | 20% | 24% |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 2.1 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 27% |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 2.2 mi | 45.2 | 20% | 34% |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 2.4 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 2.6 mi | 50 | 28% | 26% |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 2.7 mi | 44 | 21% | 27% |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 3.2 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 4.1 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 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 Shildon’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. Shildon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,424 people in 2021, against 9,650 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 Shildon’s residents
What is the population of Shildon?
The 2021 Census counted 9,650 people in Shildon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,700 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Shildon?
The median age was 42.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 62% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shildon?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shildon?
42% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Shildon good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shildon’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.