Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Whitehill is under 36.8, younger than 92% of UK towns
The share of households in detached houses is 12%, against 21% across England’s towns. Whitehill is home to 1,679 residents in 769 households, by the 2021 Census. Locally, 38% of households are one person living alone. Households without a car or van are more common here than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
What the Census says about Whitehill’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Whitehill’s residents are under 36.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 9.2% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
51% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 92% of UK towns, at 14%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Whitehill ranks above 72% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.4%
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%.
A quarter of Whitehill’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.2%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.4% in Whitehill, less 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.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Whitehill, 28%. On average, 2.2 people share a household. By way of comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
More terraced houses than 90% of UK towns: 35% of households
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
By its share of households in flats (8.8%), Whitehill is below 62% of UK towns. The wider picture: 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 93% of UK towns: 2.9%
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
Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language; in Whitehill, 99%. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
Whitehill sits above 96% of UK towns for residents with no religion (51%)
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 Whitehill · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Whitehill, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. Higher than in 93% of UK towns: 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (1.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.4%).
Whitehill ranks below 90% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 40%
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
39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 40% in Whitehill. The village has more unpaid carers than nearly two thirds of UK towns, at 10%. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 25% of adults in Whitehill (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 22% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every nearby town is older than Whitehill
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehill | 1,679 | — | 36.8 | 14% | 28% |
| Newfield | 1,529 | 0.7 mi | 37 | 14% | 32% |
| Chester-le-Street | 23,554 | 1.1 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 24% |
| Pelton and Ouston | 7,305 | 1.4 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Urpeth | 2,048 | 2.1 mi | 46.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Sacriston | 5,186 | 2.7 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 28% |
| Great Lumley | 3,627 | 3 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Birtley | 13,840 | 3.1 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 29% |
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 Whitehill’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 Whitehill’s residents
What is the population of Whitehill?
The 2021 Census counted 1,679 people in Whitehill’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Whitehill?
The median age was 36.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Whitehill?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Whitehill?
51% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.2% didn’t answer.
Is Whitehill good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Whitehill’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.