Photo: Suzanne Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Downpatrick is under 38.5, younger than 87% of towns in England and Wales
The figure for households with dependent children is 33% in Downpatrick and 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Census day 2021: 11,545 residents and 4,432 households locally. In Downpatrick, 22% of households have no car or van. The town has more unpaid carers than 99% of towns in England and Wales, at 13%.
What the Census says about Downpatrick’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Downpatrick’s residents are under 38.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical town in England and Wales. 12% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: NISRA Census 2021 (data zones summed to the settlement).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 16% in Downpatrick, less than in 87% of towns in England and Wales
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
At 12%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is in line with the figure across Northern Ireland’s towns. Against that, 17% of residents are 65 or over across Northern Ireland’s towns. More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: 7.1% of residents.
Median age of towns in England and Wales of 2,500+
■ Downpatrick, 38.5. 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.
Full-time students make up 7.2% in Downpatrick, more than in 92% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.9%, against 9.6% across Northern Ireland’s towns. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Northern Ireland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Downpatrick households average 2.4 people, larger than in 83% of towns in England and Wales
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Newry, Mourne and Down’s towns and Northern Ireland’s towns
People per household
Northern Ireland’s towns.
One-person households make up 31%, against 34% across Northern Ireland’s towns. In Downpatrick, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Downpatrick: 36% of households live in a detached house, above 69% of towns in England and Wales
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
28% of households live in a terraced house; across Northern Ireland’s towns the figure is 29%. Across Northern Ireland’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 24%. Census figures put households in flats at 9.3% in Downpatrick.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 60% of towns in England and Wales, at 7.4%
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 15%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (5.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Lower than in 78% of towns in England and Wales: 95% of residents have English as their main language. Measured more widely, 10% of residents were born outside the UK across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Downpatrick ranks below 99% of towns in England and Wales on residents with no religion: 10%
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: 98% of Downpatrick · Newry, Mourne and Down’s towns 98% · Northern Ireland’s towns 96%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 76% across Northern Ireland’s towns, 88% of residents describe themselves as Christian here. Across Northern Ireland’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 21%.
In Downpatrick, 42% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 94% of towns in England and Wales
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
Students and young renters account for much of that. The share of married adults and civil partners stands at 41%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 29%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Downpatrick’s adults: 29% with a degree-level qualification and 25% with none, against 32% and 25% across Northern Ireland’s towns. A levels top the qualifications of 16%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
Among 433 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people, the 29th youngest
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 Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Downpatrick in age: Radstock (38.5), Bursledon (38.5), Littleport (38.6) and Snodland (38.6).
No nearby town is as young as Downpatrick
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downpatrick | 11,545 | — | 38.5 | 16% | 33% |
| Killyleagh | 2,787 | 5.5 mi | 42.4 | 18% | 27% |
| Ballynahinch | 6,164 | 9.3 mi | 40 | 19% | 29% |
| Saintfield | 3,588 | 10.4 mi | 43.7 | 20% | 29% |
| Newcastle | 8,298 | 10.8 mi | 45 | 24% | 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.
- “Newry, Mourne and Down’s towns” and “Northern Ireland’s towns” mean their settlements. Census comparisons pool every town in Newry, Mourne and Down (or Northern Ireland), summed the same way as Downpatrick’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 Downpatrick’s residents
What is the population of Downpatrick?
The 2021 Census counted 11,545 people in Downpatrick’s settlement.
What is the average age in Downpatrick?
The median age was 38.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of towns in England and Wales. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Downpatrick?
98% of residents described themselves as White in 2021, against 96% across Northern Ireland’s towns and 98% across Newry, Mourne and Down’s towns. 7.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Downpatrick?
10% said they had no religion and 88% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 1.6% didn’t answer.
Is Downpatrick good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Schools are on Downpatrick’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.