Photo: Alex McGregor · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents who describe themselves as White British: 97%, a higher share than 95% of UK towns
With married adults and civil partners at 56%, Urpeth is ahead of 91% of UK towns on that count. 8.4% of households have no car or van, a lower share than in 90% of UK towns. The village is home to 2,048 residents in 905 households, by the 2021 Census. Here, a quarter of households are one person living alone.
Older than 65% of UK towns: half of Urpeth is over 46.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Locally, 19% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
In Urpeth, 4.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 99% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Urpeth, 36% and 22%. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%. For Urpeth, the census puts full-time students at 5.1%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Urpeth, 1.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 94% 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 households with dependent children (25%), Urpeth is below 70% of UK towns. On average, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 60% of UK towns: 26%
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
Urpeth has more households in flats than 52% of UK towns, at 11%. The comparison figure for households in detached houses is 21% across England’s towns.
3% of residents were born outside the UK, below 90% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%) and in EU countries (0.8%). On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 98% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 93% of UK towns: 59%
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 Urpeth · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (1.2%), Chinese (0.6%) and Indian (0.5%). Residents with no religion are rarer here than in 82% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 66% of UK towns, at 30%
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
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, 9.9% of residents give unpaid care in Urpeth. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. For 57 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Qualified to degree level: 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Urpeth, 30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Urpeth
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urpeth | 2,048 | — | 46.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Pelton and Ouston | 7,305 | 0.8 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Kibblesworth | 1,500 | 1.2 mi | 41.5 | 20% | 31% |
| Newfield | 1,529 | 1.5 mi | 37 | 14% | 32% |
| Birtley | 13,840 | 1.7 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 29% |
| Whitehill | 1,679 | 2.1 mi | 36.8 | 14% | 28% |
| Chester-le-Street | 23,554 | 2.5 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 24% |
| Springwell | 2,141 | 3.2 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 25% |
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 Urpeth’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 Urpeth’s residents
What is the population of Urpeth?
The 2021 Census counted 2,048 people in Urpeth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Urpeth?
The median age was 46.5 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Urpeth?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Urpeth?
35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Urpeth good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Urpeth’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.