Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0In West Rainton, 21% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 60%, above 94% of UK towns. Just over a third of households are one person living alone, more than in 87% of UK towns. There were 1,101 households in West Rainton at the 2021 Census, home to 2,323 residents. The census found that 26% of residents are 65 or over in the village.
What the Census says about West Rainton’s people
Many carers
258 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 94% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Older than 76% of UK towns: half of West Rainton is over 48.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with 7.8% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: a tenth of the total.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.8% in West Rainton, less than in 69% 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%.
30% of West Rainton’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Full-time students are more common here than in 60% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2% here and 4.3% across England’s towns.
Only 4.3% of households live in a flat or apartment in West Rainton
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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in West Rainton, 13%. Still, the village has more households without a car or van than 78% of UK towns, at 21%. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.
In West Rainton, 3.4% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 86% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.1%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On residents whose main language is English, West Rainton sits higher than 80% of UK towns: 99%.
Fewer residents with no religion than 82% of UK towns: 35%
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: 94% of West Rainton · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (4.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Pakistani (0.3%). Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 94%, more than in 63% of UK towns.
Unpaid carers: 12%, a higher share than 94% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 45% here and 44% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 8.7% across England’s towns. Adults who have never married account for 34%.
Degree-level qualifications: 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in West Rainton, 29%, and 25% have none, against 18%.
West Rainton 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 Rainton | 2,323 | — | 48.3 | 26% | 21% |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 1.1 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 25% |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 1.6 mi | 47.7 | 23% | 24% |
| Hetton-le-Hole | 8,968 | 2.1 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 24% |
| Fence Houses | 6,945 | 2.1 mi | 40.5 | 16% | 30% |
| Great Lumley | 3,627 | 2.3 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Houghton-le-Spring | 12,552 | 2.4 mi | 42.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Sherburn | 2,796 | 2.6 mi | 47 | 25% | 24% |
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 West Rainton’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 Rainton’s residents
What is the population of West Rainton?
The 2021 Census counted 2,323 people in West Rainton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Rainton?
The median age was 48.3 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Rainton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Rainton?
35% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is West Rainton good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Rainton’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.