Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Stanhope is older than 95% of UK towns: a median age of 53.9
With shared households of unrelated adults at 0.9%, Stanhope is behind 99% of UK towns on that count. 62% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 97% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Stanhope was home to 1,575 people in 757 households. Locally, 20% of households have dependent children.
What the Census says about Stanhope’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Stanhope’s residents are under 53.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
In Stanhope, 32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across England’s towns, 8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Stanhope. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students: 3.7%, a lower share than 91% 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%.
7.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
Stanhope ranks above 93% of UK towns on one-person households: 36%
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.
At 2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
A village of terraces: 44% of households live in one
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
Households without a car or van: 21%, above 77% of UK towns. Still, 17% of households live in a detached house, a lower share than in 81% of UK towns. On average, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Across Stanhope, nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment.
Only 2.7% of Stanhope’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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%), then in EU countries (1%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. More residents whose main language is English than in 99% of UK towns: 99%.
98% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 99% 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: 98% of Stanhope · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
A third of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%.
Stanhope: 11% of residents give unpaid care, above 85% 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
Here 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%. To put it in context, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The census found that 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Stanhope.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 25%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Stanhope counts 25% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 24% have no qualification (18%).
No nearby town is as old as Stanhope
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanhope | 1,575 | — | 53.9 | 32% | 20% |
| Wolsingham | 2,428 | 5.1 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 23% |
| Tow Law | 1,796 | 7.6 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Castleside | 1,532 | 7.9 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 24% |
| Consett | 29,874 | 9.8 mi | 42.7 | 19% | 28% |
| Billy Row | 1,254 | 10.4 mi | 39.6 | 15% | 29% |
| Crook | 9,717 | 10.6 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 27% |
| Leadgate | 3,339 | 11.1 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 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 Stanhope’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 Stanhope’s residents
What is the population of Stanhope?
The 2021 Census counted 1,575 people in Stanhope’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Stanhope?
The median age was 53.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stanhope?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stanhope?
33% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Stanhope good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Stanhope’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.