Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.1%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
Households with dependent children make up 23%, against 29% across England’s towns. On the census count, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. At 33%, the share of households in terraced houses is higher than in 88% of UK towns. Acomb is home to 1,155 residents in 554 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Acomb’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Acomb’s residents are under 51.2 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).
Half of Acomb is over 51.2, older than 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 8.2%, against 12% across England’s towns. 30% of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 90% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Acomb ranks above 69% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.3%
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%.
Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 8.3% in Acomb. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Acomb ranks above 92% of UK towns on one-person households: 36%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households average 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The usual figure: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
In Acomb, 2.6% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
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 share of households without a car or van is 14%, against 24% across England’s towns. Here, 28% of households live in a detached house. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
2.2% of residents were born outside the UK, below 98% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 99% here, more than in 97% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53%, a higher share than 73% 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: 98% of Acomb · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 38% here and 37% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Acomb ranks below 71% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 29%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Acomb has 49%. Unpaid carers account for 8.6%. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison.
37% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 37% of its adults qualified to degree level, Acomb compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 16% hold no qualification (18%).
Median age: 3 of the 7 towns around Acomb are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acomb | 1,155 | — | 51.2 | 30% | 23% |
| Hexham | 10,945 | 1.6 mi | 51.8 | 29% | 22% |
| Corbridge | 2,888 | 4 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 17% |
| Haydon Bridge | 1,229 | 5.7 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 23% |
| Stocksfield | 1,944 | 9.1 mi | 54 | 32% | 23% |
| Ovingham | 1,155 | 9.8 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 23% |
| Prudhoe | 10,285 | 10.5 mi | 45.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Wylam | 1,661 | 11.4 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
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.
- “Northumberland’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northumberland (or England), summed the same way as Acomb’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 Acomb’s residents
What is the population of Acomb?
The 2021 Census counted 1,155 people in Acomb’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Acomb?
The median age was 51.2 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Acomb?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 2.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Acomb?
38% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Acomb good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Acomb’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.