Church of St Michael and All Angels · Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Witton Gilbert sits below 99% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (1%)
2.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are scarce here: 17%, fewer than in 81% of UK towns. Witton Gilbert is home to 2,525 residents in 1,158 households, by the 2021 Census. Across Witton Gilbert, 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
What the Census says about Witton Gilbert’s people
Many carers
282 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 45.3, Witton Gilbert is older than 56% of UK towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 10%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Lanchester, the oldest of County Durham’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Witton Gilbert, 45.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 99% of UK towns: 5.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
Here 5.2% of adults are full-time students, where the figure across England’s towns is 7.9%. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 77% 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 15% are someone 66 or over living alone (County Durham’s towns 14%). For Witton Gilbert, the census puts one-person households at 33%.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 60% of UK towns, at 17%
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
19% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns.
3.8% born outside the UK, fewer than in 80% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Witton Gilbert has 99%. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 81% 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: 95% of Witton Gilbert · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.3%). 41% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 50% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Witton Gilbert ranks above 95% of UK towns on 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
39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 34% in Witton Gilbert. On married adults and civil partners, Witton Gilbert sits lower than 51% of UK towns: 48%. Across England’s towns, unpaid carers come to 8.7%. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 99 residents.
Degree-level qualifications: 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 30% of adults in Witton Gilbert (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 19% (England’s towns: 18%).
Of 219 UK towns its size (2,500 to 3,000 people), the 81st youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 60.8 in St Mary's Bay. Nearest to Witton Gilbert in age: Dipton (45.2), Swineshead (45.2), Blofield (45.3) and Almondsbury (45.3).
Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Witton Gilbert
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witton Gilbert | 2,525 | — | 45.3 | 24% | 27% |
| Sacriston | 5,186 | 0.8 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 28% |
| Langley Park | 4,031 | 1.8 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 25% |
| Ushaw Moor and Bearpark | 6,483 | 2.1 mi | 40.8 | 17% | 27% |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 2.9 mi | 37.9 | 14% | 29% |
| Burnhope | 1,465 | 3.1 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 27% |
| Durham | 50,502 | 3.3 mi | 31.4 | 17% | 22% |
| Whitehill | 1,679 | 3.4 mi | 36.8 | 14% | 28% |
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 Witton Gilbert’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 Witton Gilbert’s residents
What is the population of Witton Gilbert?
The 2021 Census counted 2,525 people in Witton Gilbert’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Witton Gilbert?
The median age was 45.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 56% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Witton Gilbert?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Witton Gilbert?
41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Witton Gilbert good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Witton Gilbert’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.