Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Alnwick
Set against 30% across England’s towns, two in five households are one person living alone in Alnwick. Higher than in 91% of UK towns: 58% of residents describe themselves as Christian. This Northumberland town had 8,432 residents and 4,128 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 50.5 (older than 87% of UK towns). Here, 25% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What the Census says about Alnwick’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Alnwick’s residents are under 50.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A ±0% change since 2011: slower than 83% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Alnwick’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,100 people in 2011; 8,100 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2023 to mid-2024, the population rose by 80, the most of any year. The 65 and over age group moved most (+48%); the 0 to 15 group moved least (−24%).
A median age of 50.5: Alnwick is older than 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 28% in Alnwick.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Alnwick, 50.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Alnwick ranks below 77% of UK towns on full-time students: 4.2%
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 10%, above 73% of UK towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children: 20%, a lower share than 94% of UK towns
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 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Above 88% of UK towns: 25% 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
At 21%, households in detached houses sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%. For Alnwick, the census puts households in terraced houses at 22%.
4.2% born outside the UK, fewer than in 75% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Higher than in 78% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 15%.
In Alnwick, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 87% 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: 96% of Alnwick · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.2%). Residents with no religion are rarer here than in nearly four fifths of UK towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%.
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 62% of UK towns
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 191 residents. Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, a lower share than in 81% of UK towns. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: 32% here and 39% across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 31%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
18% of Alnwick’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 31% have one at degree level (34%).
50th highest median age among 424 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tidworth is the youngest (28.4); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Alnwick in age: Ecclesfield and Grenoside (50.4), Southwell (50.4), Wingerworth (50.5) and Radcliffe on Trent (50.5).
Alnwick sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alnwick | 8,432 | — | 50.5 | 28% | 20% |
| Shilbottle | 1,787 | 2.6 mi | 46.2 | 20% | 27% |
| Longhoughton | 1,173 | 3.7 mi | 45.5 | 18% | 30% |
| Warkworth | 1,412 | 5.8 mi | 63.1 | 46% | 11% |
| Amble | 5,852 | 7.1 mi | 51.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Felton | 1,270 | 7.4 mi | 55 | 29% | 23% |
| South Broomhill | 1,520 | 8.2 mi | 39 | 12% | 16% |
| Longframlington | 1,357 | 8.2 mi | 55.5 | 32% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Alnwick’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. Alnwick’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,094 people in 2021, against 8,432 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 Alnwick’s residents
What is the population of Alnwick?
The 2021 Census counted 8,432 people in Alnwick’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,100 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Alnwick?
The median age was 50.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 87% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Alnwick?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Alnwick?
36% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Alnwick good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Alnwick’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. 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.