Photo: Originally uploaded by MarcusBritish (Transferred by Hogweard ) · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 37.5: Middlesbrough is younger than 91% of UK towns
33% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put Middlesbrough’s population at 148,232, in 62,351 households. Across Middlesbrough, nearly two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership. Lower than in 85% of UK towns: 80% of residents describe themselves as White British.
What the Census says about Middlesbrough’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Middlesbrough’s residents are under 37.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 13% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, Middlesbrough outgrew 67% of UK towns: +12%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Middlesbrough’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 145,000 people in 2011; 162,200 in 2024.
By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+33%) and the 45 to 64 group least (−4%). Between mid-2021 and mid-2022 the population rose by 5,430, its biggest one-year gain.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 13% in Middlesbrough, more than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 17% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: 7.1% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Middlesbrough, 37.5. 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.
Middlesbrough: 10% of adults are full-time students, above 96% 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%.
In Middlesbrough, just over a fifth of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. On residents who moved in within the year, Middlesbrough sits higher than 77% of UK towns: 10%. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
33% of households are one person living alone, a share 78% of UK towns don’t reach
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 3.3% in Middlesbrough. What’s more, on households with dependent children, Middlesbrough sits higher than 72% of UK towns: 30%. Each household has 2.3 people on average.
A lower share of households in detached houses than 82% 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
Households in terraced houses make up 28%, against 24% across England’s towns. 13% of households live in a flat, more than in 59% of UK towns; 17% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
12% born outside the UK, more 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (6%), then in EU countries (3.1%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 93% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 86% of UK towns.
46% said they are Christian and 37% that they have no religion
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: 80% of Middlesbrough · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Pakistani (6.1%), Other White (2.8%) and African (2.3%). Lower than in 73% of UK towns: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
43% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
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
4,673 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. More unpaid carers than in 52% of UK towns: 9.4%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 26% of its adults qualified to degree level, Middlesbrough compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 24% hold no qualification (18%). 18% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
From a median age of 28 in Middlesbrough Central to 49 in Marton West
The city’s 20 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Marton West is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Middlesbrough Central the youngest (median age 28). Students cluster in Middlesbrough Central, where 33% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Park End (38% of households).
Ranked by age, 20th youngest of 48 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Salford is the youngest (29.8); Worthing the oldest (44.8). Nearest to Middlesbrough in age: Watford (37.4), Newport (37.4), Huddersfield (37.7) and Basingstoke (37.8).
Every neighbour of Middlesbrough has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | 148,232 | — | 37.5 | 17% | 30% |
| Stainton | 1,817 | 2.4 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Eston | 29,625 | 2.9 mi | 42 | 20% | 28% |
| Thornaby-on-Tees | 23,352 | 3 mi | 39.5 | 19% | 28% |
| Ingleby Barwick | 23,380 | 4.3 mi | 38.2 | 11% | 43% |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 84,824 | 4.8 mi | 40.6 | 19% | 28% |
| Billingham | 33,917 | 5 mi | 44.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Great Ayton | 4,348 | 5.4 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 19% |
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.
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Middlesbrough’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Middlesbrough’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 149,856 people in 2021, against 148,232 in the built-up area.
- 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 Middlesbrough’s residents
What is the population of Middlesbrough?
The 2021 Census counted 148,232 people in Middlesbrough’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 162,200 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Middlesbrough?
The median age was 37.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 91% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Middlesbrough?
80% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Middlesbrough?
37% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 9.9% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Middlesbrough good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Park End (38% of households). Schools are on Middlesbrough’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.