Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Wolsingham is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52.1
26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 39%. Census figures put households with dependent children at 23% in Wolsingham. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 94% of UK towns: 97%. At the 2021 Census, 2,428 people lived locally, in 1,139 households.
What the Census says about Wolsingham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Wolsingham’s residents are under 52.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 91% of UK towns: 8.2%. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Full-time students: 3.8%, a lower share than 89% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 7.5%, Wolsingham is behind 75% of UK towns on that count. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 89% 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.
Here 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, where the figure across England’s towns is 4.3%. Census figures put one-person households at 32% in Wolsingham.
More households in terraced houses than 93% of UK towns: 39%
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
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Wolsingham comes in at 4.6%. As a reference point, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. For Wolsingham, the census puts households without a car or van at 14%.
Below 90% of UK towns: 3.1% of 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%). Higher than in 93% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 59%, a higher share than 93% 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: 97% of Wolsingham · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On religion, 35% answered “no religion” and 59% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.4%) and Chinese (0.3%).
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 83% of UK towns, at 54%
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 80 people. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Against a figure of 8.7% across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers in Wolsingham comes in at 11%.
Qualified to degree level: 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 34% of its adults qualified to degree level, Wolsingham compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 17% hold no qualification (18%).
Wolsingham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolsingham | 2,428 | — | 52.1 | 30% | 23% |
| Tow Law | 1,796 | 2.8 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Stanhope | 1,575 | 5.1 mi | 53.9 | 32% | 20% |
| Billy Row | 1,254 | 5.4 mi | 39.6 | 15% | 29% |
| Crook | 9,717 | 5.5 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 27% |
| Castleside | 1,532 | 7.1 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 24% |
| Esh Winning | 3,877 | 7.3 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 25% |
| Toft Hill and High Etherley | 1,865 | 7.7 mi | 51 | 27% | 22% |
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 Wolsingham’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 Wolsingham’s residents
What is the population of Wolsingham?
The 2021 Census counted 2,428 people in Wolsingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wolsingham?
The median age was 52.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wolsingham?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wolsingham?
35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Wolsingham good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wolsingham’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.