Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Magherafelt is younger than 89% of towns in England and Wales: a median age of 38.1
The typical household size is 2.5 people, against 2.3 across Northern Ireland’s towns. Magherafelt counted 8,996 residents and 3,630 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 31% of households have dependent children. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are common here: 38%, more than in 82% of towns in England and Wales.
What the Census says about Magherafelt’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Magherafelt’s residents are under 38.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical town in England and Wales. 12% are 15 to 24 and 15% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More born abroad than most towns
13% of residents were born outside the UK, against 22% across Mid Ulster’s towns and 10% across Northern Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (9.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.2%). Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: NISRA Census 2021 (data zones summed to the settlement).
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 90% of towns in England and Wales, at 15%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
At 12%, residents aged 15 to 24 sit close to the figure across Northern Ireland’s towns. Across the comparison, 17% of residents are 65 or over across Northern Ireland’s towns. No age band is larger than 30–34: 7.7% of residents.
Median age of towns in England and Wales of 2,500+
■ Magherafelt, 38.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Northern Ireland, 51% of residents are women.
Above 92% of towns in England and Wales: 7.3% of adults are full-time students
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%.
By class, 27% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work (Northern Ireland’s towns: 29% and 27%). For full-time students, the comparison across Northern Ireland’s towns is 8.3%. Across Magherafelt, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A smaller share of one-person households than 51% of towns in England and Wales: 30%
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.
Magherafelt sits close to the norm on shared households of unrelated adults: 1.9%, about the same as across Northern Ireland’s towns. For one-person households, the comparison across Northern Ireland’s towns is 34%.
Magherafelt ranks above 68% of towns in England and Wales on households without a car or van: 19%
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
22% of households live in a terraced house; across Northern Ireland’s towns the figure is 29%. On households in detached houses, Magherafelt sits higher than 63% of towns in England and Wales: 34%. Across Northern Ireland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 25%. The share of households in flats stands at 9%.
Residents whose main language is English make up 90% in Magherafelt, less than in 92% of towns in England and Wales
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 (9.9%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2.2%). Across Northern Ireland’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 94%. 13% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 83% of towns in England and Wales.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 99% of towns in England and Wales, at 12%
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: 96% of Magherafelt · Mid Ulster’s towns 91% · Northern Ireland’s towns 96%.
Religion · all residents
Across Northern Ireland’s towns, just over three quarters of residents describe themselves as Christian; in Magherafelt, 85%. Islam is the religion of 1.4% of residents. For comparison, 21% of residents said they have no religion across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Magherafelt ranks above 89% of towns in England and Wales on unpaid carers: 11%
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
With married adults and civil partners at 46%, Magherafelt is behind 62% of towns in England and Wales on that count. Unpaid carers: 12% across Northern Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 31%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Northern Ireland’s towns, 25% of adults have no qualification; in Magherafelt, 26%, while 31% hold one at degree level (32%). For 15%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Of 483 UK towns its size (6,000 to 12,000 people), the 30th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Magherafelt in age: Goldthorpe (38), Llanharan and Brynna (38), Mildenhall (38.2) and Shiremoor (38.4).
Among its 3 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than Magherafelt
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magherafelt | 8,996 | — | 38.1 | 15% | 31% |
| Maghera | 4,235 | 6.9 mi | 37.8 | 17% | 32% |
| Cookstown | 12,546 | 9.4 mi | 38.1 | 16% | 32% |
| Randalstown | 5,151 | 11.8 mi | 40.3 | 18% | 30% |
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 Magherafelt’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 Magherafelt’s residents
What is the population of Magherafelt?
The 2021 Census counted 8,996 people in Magherafelt’s settlement.
What is the average age in Magherafelt?
The median age was 38.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 89% of towns in England and Wales. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Magherafelt?
96% of residents described themselves as White in 2021, against 96% across Northern Ireland’s towns and 91% across Mid Ulster’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Magherafelt?
12% said they had no religion and 85% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 1.3% didn’t answer.
Is Magherafelt good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Schools are on Magherafelt’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.