Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.027% of households have no car or van, more than in 91% of UK towns
Here 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. At the same time, at 1.6%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 89% of UK towns. Blyth had 39,731 residents in 18,059 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put one-person households at 35% here.
What the Census says about Blyth’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 45% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
Faster growth than 66% of UK towns: Blyth changed by +11% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Blyth’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 37,400 people in 2011; 41,700 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+34%) and the 45 to 64 least (+1%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 790 people.
Half of Blyth is under 41.6, younger than 71% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 7.2% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in nearly four fifths of UK towns. With residents aged 65 and over at 20%, Blyth is behind 65% of UK towns on that count.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Blyth, 41.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 64% of UK towns: 4.5%
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: 8.2%, below three fifths of UK towns. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 80% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
27% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns.
Households in detached houses make up 16% in Blyth, less than in 82% 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
In Blyth, 26% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. The share of households in flats stands at 14%. Across England’s towns, households in detached houses come to 21%.
Blyth sits below 86% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (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 newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are nearly a quarter of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 99% of residents have English as their main language.
No religion: 49% of residents, a higher share than 90% 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 Blyth · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (1.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.3%).
Blyth ranks below 84% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 42%
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
With unpaid carers at 10%, Blyth is ahead of 72% of UK towns on that count. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. In Blyth, 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
22% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
21% of Blyth’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 22% have one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 37 in Blyth Newsham to 51 in Blyth South
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Blyth South is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Blyth Newsham the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in Blyth Newsham (32% of households).
91st highest median age among 182 UK towns of 28,000 to 54,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.3 in Hatfield to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Blyth in age: Witney (41.5), Windsor (41.5), Grantham (41.6) and Woodley (41.6).
Blyth is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blyth | 39,731 | — | 41.6 | 20% | 27% |
| New Hartley | 1,764 | 2.4 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Bedlington | 16,186 | 2.6 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 25% |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 3.2 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Seaton Sluice | 2,957 | 3.3 mi | 55.4 | 34% | 18% |
| Seaton Delaval | 8,012 | 3.3 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 22% |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 3.9 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 22% |
| Seghill | 2,799 | 3.9 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 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 Blyth’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. Blyth’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 39,733 people in 2021, against 39,731 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 Blyth’s residents
What is the population of Blyth?
The 2021 Census counted 39,731 people in Blyth’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 41,700 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Blyth?
The median age was 41.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 71% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blyth?
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 Blyth?
49% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Blyth good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Blyth Newsham (32% of households). Schools are on Blyth’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.