Photo: David Williams · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 2.6% of households live in a flat or apartment in Willington
28% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Higher than in 91% of UK towns: 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. At the 2021 Census Willington was home to 5,685 people in 2,548 households. The share of one-person households stands at 36%.
What the Census says about Willington’s people
Many carers
626 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).
A young town: 11% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.7% of residents. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The median age in Willington is 44.7, higher than in 51% of UK towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Willington, 44.7. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
A student town: 5.3% of adults study full-time
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 take in 23% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 31% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.5% in Willington.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.7%, a lower share than 87% 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.
Families with dependent children are 27% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 14% are someone 66 or over living alone (County Durham’s towns 14%). For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. There are 2.2 people in the average household.
A higher share of households in terraced houses than 94% of UK towns, at 40%
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
Households in detached houses: 24% here and 21% across England’s towns.
2.8% born outside the UK, fewer than in 93% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
99% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
Willington sits above 80% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (55%)
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 Willington · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (1.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Indian (0.5%). Few places have so few residents with no religion: 38% here, fewer than in 69% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Willington sits above 94% of UK towns for unpaid carers (12%)
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 226. Across England’s towns, unpaid carers come to 8.7%. 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a higher share than in 83% of UK towns. Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Willington comes in at 42%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Willington counts 23% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 26% have no qualification (18%).
Ranked by age, 253rd youngest of 624 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Willington in age: Malton (44.6), Great Glen (44.6), Newent (44.7) and Sturry (44.7).
The towns around Willington are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willington | 5,685 | — | 44.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Crook | 9,717 | 2.3 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 27% |
| Billy Row | 1,254 | 2.7 mi | 39.6 | 15% | 29% |
| Spennymoor | 20,401 | 3.5 mi | 42.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Brandon | 9,508 | 3.7 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 26% |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 4.1 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 27% |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 4.2 mi | 37.9 | 14% | 29% |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.2 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 27% |
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 Willington’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 Willington’s residents
What is the population of Willington?
The 2021 Census counted 5,685 people in Willington’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Willington?
The median age was 44.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 51% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Willington?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Willington?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Willington good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Willington’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.