St. Lurach's Church · Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Maghera is younger than 90% of towns in England and Wales: a median age of 37.8
4.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 14% across Northern Ireland’s towns. There were 1,666 households in Maghera at the 2021 Census, home to 4,235 residents. On the census count, 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Few places have as many households with dependent children: 32% here, more than in 84% of towns in England and Wales.
What the Census says about Maghera’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Maghera’s residents are under 37.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical town in England and Wales. 10% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: NISRA Census 2021 (data zones summed to the settlement).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 73% of towns in England and Wales: 10%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 0–4: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across Northern Ireland’s towns. For Maghera, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 17%. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Median age of towns in England and Wales of 2,500+
■ Maghera, 37.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Northern Ireland, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year: 5.9%, a lower share than 97% of towns in England and Wales
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the 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%.
Across Northern Ireland’s towns, 29% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine work; in Maghera, 25% and 30%. Few places have as many full-time students: 6.9% here, more than in just over nine in ten towns in England and Wales. By way of comparison, 9.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Northern Ireland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Maghera households average 2.5 people, larger than in 91% of towns in England and Wales
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Mid Ulster’s towns and Northern Ireland’s towns
People per household
Northern Ireland’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.1%, close to the figure across Northern Ireland’s towns. One-person households: 30% of the total.
Above 69% of towns in England and Wales: 19% of households have no car or van
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
The figure for households in terraced houses is 23% in Maghera and 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. In Maghera, 33% of households live in a detached house. Across Northern Ireland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 25%.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 60% of towns in England and Wales: 7.5%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (6.2%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). Residents whose main language is English are rarer here than in four in five towns in England and Wales. Set beside that, 10% of residents were born outside the UK across Northern Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 99% of towns in England and Wales, at 7.7%
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White · all residents
White, not charted: 99% of Maghera · Mid Ulster’s towns 91% · Northern Ireland’s towns 96%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up 91% of residents, against 76% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Set beside that, 21% of residents said they have no religion across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Above 86% of towns in England and Wales: 11% of residents give unpaid care
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
For 144 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Lower than in 58% of towns in England and Wales: 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Across the comparison, 12% of residents give unpaid care across Northern Ireland’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Maghera’s adults: 29% with a degree-level qualification and 29% with none, against 32% and 25% across Northern Ireland’s towns. A levels are the highest qualification of 16%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Of 696 UK towns its size (3,000 to 6,000 people), the 55th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe (64.7). Nearest to Maghera in age: Llanharry (37.7), Aberbargoed (37.8), Church (37.9) and Tangmere (37.9).
Nearby, 1 of 2 towns have older populations than Maghera
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maghera | 4,235 | — | 37.8 | 17% | 32% |
| Magherafelt | 8,996 | 6.9 mi | 38.1 | 15% | 31% |
| Dungiven | 3,346 | 11.1 mi | 36.1 | 13% | 35% |
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.
- “Mid Ulster’s towns” and “Northern Ireland’s towns” mean their settlements. Census comparisons pool every town in Mid Ulster (or Northern Ireland), summed the same way as Maghera’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. NISRA 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 Maghera’s residents
What is the population of Maghera?
The 2021 Census counted 4,235 people in Maghera’s settlement.
What is the average age in Maghera?
The median age was 37.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 90% of towns in England and Wales. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Maghera?
99% of residents described themselves as White in 2021, against 96% across Northern Ireland’s towns and 91% across Mid Ulster’s towns. 7.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Maghera?
7.7% said they had no religion and 91% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 1.4% didn’t answer.
Is Maghera good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Schools are on Maghera’s schools page.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 (Flexible Table Builder), data zones summed to NISRA’s Settlement Development Limits 2015 (household composition by super data zone; women and men from whole data zones, which approximate the town’s boundary). 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.