Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0Bedlington: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 98% of UK towns
One-person households make up 34%, against 30% across England’s towns. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 1.7%. On households in flats, Bedlington sits higher than nearly two thirds of UK towns: 14%. 16,186 residents in 7,453 households: that is Bedlington at the 2021 Census.
+2% since 2011: slower than 75% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bedlington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 17,500 people in 2011; 17,900 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +32% for the 65 and over to −9% for the 0 to 15. In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 290, the most of any year.
Bedlington is older than 59% of UK towns: a median age of 45.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 10%, against 12% across England’s towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bedlington, 45.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Bedlington sits below 68% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (7.9%)
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 26% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 30% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Here, 4.6% of adults are full-time students. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 86% 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.
The figure for households with dependent children is 25% in Bedlington and 29% across England’s towns.
Bedlington ranks above 84% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 24%
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 19%, against 24% across England’s towns. In one household in 4 there is no car or van. 14% of households live in a flat, more than in 66% of UK towns; 22% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 92% of UK towns: 2.9%
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 EU countries (1.3%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Higher than in 94% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 14% (England’s towns: 21%).
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 71% of UK towns: 53%
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: 97% of Bedlington · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Locally, just over two in five residents said they have no religion. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
A larger share of unpaid carers than 76% of UK towns: 10%
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
565 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. As a yardstick, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. At 45%, the share of married adults and civil partners is lower than in 69% of UK towns. Compared with 39% across England’s towns, just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Bedlington, 21%, while 24% hold one at degree level (34%).
135th highest median age among 380 UK towns of 11,000 to 22,000
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 Bedlington in age: Blackwood (45.5), Davenham (45.6), Royal Wootton Bassett (45.7) and Bingley (45.8).
Bedlington is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedlington | 16,186 | — | 45.7 | 22% | 25% |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 2 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 22% |
| Blyth | 39,731 | 2.6 mi | 41.6 | 20% | 27% |
| Ashington | 28,279 | 3.3 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 26% |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 3.3 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Pegswood | 3,302 | 4 mi | 46.3 | 21% | 26% |
| New Hartley | 1,764 | 4.3 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Newbiggin-by-the-Sea | 5,951 | 4.5 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 22% |
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 Bedlington’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. Bedlington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 17,320 people in 2021, against 16,186 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 Bedlington’s residents
What is the population of Bedlington?
The 2021 Census counted 16,186 people in Bedlington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 17,900 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bedlington?
The median age was 45.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 59% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bedlington?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 2.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bedlington?
41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Bedlington good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bedlington’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.