Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.048% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 97% of UK towns
Households in Ashington hold 2.1 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). This Northumberland town had 28,279 residents in 13,176 households at the 2021 Census. 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. Higher than in 94% of UK towns: 30% of households have no car or van.
Ashington’s population changed by +8% since 2011, more than in 53% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ashington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 27,800 people in 2011; 30,100 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+26%) and 16 to 29 least (−1%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 680 more people.
Half of Ashington is under 42.7, younger than 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.5% of residents. Ashington has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 65% of UK towns, at 20%. Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Ashington comes in at 10%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ashington, 42.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 64% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 23% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 32% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The census found that 8.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Ashington. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
In Ashington, 36% of households are one person living alone, more than in 91% 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.
Here 1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, where the figure across England’s towns is 4.3%. Elsewhere, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Across Ashington, just over a quarter of households have dependent children.
19% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 76% 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
With households in flats at 13%, Ashington is ahead of 63% of UK towns on that count. For households in detached houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 21%.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 86% of UK towns: 3.4%
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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%) and in EU countries (1%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 98% here, more than in 69% of UK towns. Nearly a fifth of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
Ashington: 44% of residents said they have no religion, above 70% 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 Ashington · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (1%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Indian (0.3%). Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. More residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 51% of UK towns: 50%.
Ashington ranks above 85% of UK towns 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
1,015 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. As a yardstick, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Adults who have never married are more common here than in 78% of UK towns. At the same time, by its share of married adults and civil partners (42%), Ashington is below 83% of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 22% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Ashington’s adults: 22% with a degree-level qualification and 22% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 39 in Ashington Hirst to 47 in Ashington West & South
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Ashington West & South is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Ashington Hirst the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Ashington East (29% of households).
Among 238 UK towns of 20,000 to 38,000 people, the 116th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Ashington in age: Bedworth (42.6), Frome (42.6), Consett (42.7) and Rawtenstall (42.7).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Ashington
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashington | 28,279 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 26% |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 1.5 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 22% |
| Newbiggin-by-the-Sea | 5,951 | 1.9 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 22% |
| Lynemouth | 1,685 | 2.6 mi | 46.9 | 22% | 23% |
| Ellington | 2,131 | 3 mi | 55.2 | 31% | 19% |
| Bedlington | 16,186 | 3.3 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 25% |
| Pegswood | 3,302 | 3.4 mi | 46.3 | 21% | 26% |
| Blyth | 39,731 | 4.4 mi | 41.6 | 20% | 27% |
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 Ashington’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. Ashington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 28,279 people in 2021, against 28,279 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 Ashington’s residents
What is the population of Ashington?
The 2021 Census counted 28,279 people in Ashington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 30,100 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ashington?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ashington?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ashington?
44% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Ashington good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Ashington East (29% of households). Schools are on Ashington’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.