Photo: Les Hull · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 92% of UK towns: half of Bellingham is over 52
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Bellingham has 1.7%. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 98% here. Few places have so few households with dependent children: 24% here, fewer than in just over four fifths of UK towns. The village is home to 1,031 residents in 477 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Bellingham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Bellingham’s residents are under 52 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).
Bellingham sits above 90% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (30%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 91% of UK towns: 3.7% of adults are full-time students
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%.
25% of Bellingham’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%. For Bellingham, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 6.5%.
2.2 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.
Here 32% of households are one person living alone, where the figure across England’s towns is 30%.
A larger share of households in terraced houses than 89% of UK towns: 34%
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
28% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. The share of households in flats stands at 6.1%. On households without a car or van, Bellingham sits higher than 60% of UK towns: 17%.
Only 2.8% of residents were born outside the UK in Bellingham
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 100%, more than in 99% of UK towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
Bellingham sits above 87% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (57%)
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 Bellingham · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 35%, below 83% of UK towns. Typically, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Bellingham sits above 87% of UK towns for 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 36. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 62% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
25% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 25% of adults in Bellingham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 21% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Bellingham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | 1,031 | — | 52 | 30% | 24% |
| Haydon Bridge | 1,229 | 11.8 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 23% |
| Acomb | 1,155 | 12 mi | 51.2 | 30% | 23% |
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 Bellingham’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 Bellingham’s residents
What is the population of Bellingham?
The 2021 Census counted 1,031 people in Bellingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bellingham?
The median age was 52 at the 2021 Census. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bellingham?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bellingham?
35% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Bellingham good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bellingham’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.