Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns, at 1%
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 0.8% of households live in a flat or apartment here. Census figures put adults who have never married at 43% in Startforth. Lower than in 89% of UK towns: 22% of households have dependent children. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,391, in 508 households.
What the Census says about Startforth’s people
A village people move to
18% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Startforth’s residents are under 38.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% are 15 to 24 and 23% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 27%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 20–24, with 19% of residents, 3.1 times the share across England’s towns. The census found that 23% of residents are 65 or over in Startforth. The median age here is 38.3, lower than in 88% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
41% women, 59% men
About 69 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. A large institution, such as a prison, barracks, boarding school, university or care home, can tilt a town’s split: the census counts the people living there as residents.
In Startforth, 18% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 98% 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 32% of Startforth’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 23%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. Locally, 4.1% of adults are full-time students.
Startforth households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 82% 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.
The share of one-person households trails just over two thirds of UK towns: 28%.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 89% of UK towns: 8.6%
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
In Startforth, 16% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. For Startforth, the census puts households in detached houses at 40%.
Startforth sits above 84% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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 outside the UK: 4.4%, below 72% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Startforth: 52% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 66% 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: 90% of Startforth · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On residents with no religion, 37% here is much the same as across England’s towns. For Startforth, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 90%. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison.
44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
28 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in 77% of UK towns: 44%. Unpaid carers: 8.4%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Startforth’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have none (18%).
Every neighbour of Startforth has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startforth | 1,391 | — | 38.3 | 23% | 22% |
| Barnard Castle | 5,783 | 0.7 mi | 51.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Staindrop | 1,339 | 5.8 mi | 51.8 | 29% | 22% |
| Cockfield | 1,351 | 7 mi | 51.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Gainford | 1,127 | 7.9 mi | 53.5 | 31% | 24% |
| Evenwood | 1,587 | 8.9 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 23% |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 10.5 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Toft Hill and High Etherley | 1,865 | 10.5 mi | 51 | 27% | 22% |
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 Startforth’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 Startforth’s residents
What is the population of Startforth?
The 2021 Census counted 1,391 people in Startforth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Startforth?
The median age was 38.3 at the 2021 Census. 27% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Startforth?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Startforth?
37% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.5% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Startforth good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Startforth’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.