Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.054% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 98% of UK towns
Households in detached houses: 10%, below 94% of UK towns. Locally, 37% of households are one person living alone. With a median age of 48.3, West Pelton is older than just over three quarters of UK towns. The village had 680 residents in 314 households at the 2021 Census.
8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8.9% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 24% in West Pelton.
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.
West Pelton: 9.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 72% 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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; West Pelton has 24% and 32%. Against that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. In West Pelton, 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
Smaller households than 92% 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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in West Pelton. Households with dependent children: a quarter of the total.
West Pelton: 26% of households have no car or van, above 88% of UK towns
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 one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Every 4th household or so has no car or van.
Only 1% of West Pelton’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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in Africa (0.6%) and in EU countries (0.3%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 100% here, more than in 99% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 91% 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 West Pelton · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 48% in West Pelton. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Mixed or multiple (2.1%), Other White (0.4%) and African (0.3%). Residents with no religion are more common here than in 80% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%.
West Pelton ranks above 85% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 11%
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
Some 25 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 44% here, fewer than in 75% of UK towns. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 8.7% across England’s towns. Adults who have never married make up 34%, against 39% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 23% of West Pelton’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 25% have no qualification (18%).
West Pelton is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Pelton | 680 | — | 48.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Newfield | 1,529 | 1 mi | 37 | 14% | 32% |
| Urpeth | 2,048 | 1.6 mi | 46.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Pelton and Ouston | 7,305 | 1.6 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Whitehill | 1,679 | 1.6 mi | 36.8 | 14% | 28% |
| Stanley | 19,423 | 2 mi | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Kibblesworth | 1,500 | 2.4 mi | 41.5 | 20% | 31% |
| Chester-le-Street | 23,554 | 2.6 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 24% |
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 West Pelton’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 West Pelton’s residents
What is the population of West Pelton?
The 2021 Census counted 680 people in West Pelton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Pelton?
The median age was 48.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Pelton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Pelton?
46% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is West Pelton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Pelton’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.