Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 91% of UK towns: half of Hexham is over 51.8
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Hexham has 36%. Lower than in 90% of UK towns: 22% of households have dependent children. The town’s 5,235 households held 10,945 residents at the 2021 Census. Households in flats: a fifth of the total.
What the Census says about Hexham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Hexham’s residents are under 51.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Hexham at 10,800 in 2011 and 10,700 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 89% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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 change of −1% since 2011 leaves Hexham behind 89% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hexham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,800 people in 2011; 10,700 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+35%) and the 16 to 29 least (−20%).
Hexham ranks above 88% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 29%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Hexham comes in at 8.6%. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hexham, 51.8. 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.
Below 59% of UK towns: 4.6% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 8.5%, below 54% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 95% 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.
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Hexham has 2%.
Households without a car or van: 23%, a higher share than 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
With households in detached houses at 26%, Hexham is behind 59% of UK towns on that count. The wider picture: 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house.
Residents born outside the UK make up 4.8% in Hexham, less than in 67% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%). More residents whose main language is English than in 71% of UK towns: 99%. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 10% (England’s towns: 21%).
55% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 81% 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: 95% of Hexham · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.3%). 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 77% of UK towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Here 38% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across England’s towns is 37%.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 68% of UK towns, at 30%
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 share of married adults and civil partners is 49%, against 44% across England’s towns. Fewer unpaid carers than in just over half of UK towns: 9.3%. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. 257 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
42% 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 42% of adults in Hexham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 15% (England’s towns: 18%).
Of 397 UK towns its size (8,000 to 15,000 people), the 26th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Hexham in age: Sandown (51.7), Tavistock (51.7), Richmond (51.9) and Swaffham (51.9).
Older than Hexham: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hexham | 10,945 | — | 51.8 | 29% | 22% |
| Acomb | 1,155 | 1.6 mi | 51.2 | 30% | 23% |
| Corbridge | 2,888 | 3.7 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 17% |
| Haydon Bridge | 1,229 | 5.7 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 23% |
| Stocksfield | 1,944 | 8.5 mi | 54 | 32% | 23% |
| Ovingham | 1,155 | 9.5 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 23% |
| Prudhoe | 10,285 | 10.1 mi | 45.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Wylam | 1,661 | 11.3 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
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 Hexham’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. Hexham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,377 people in 2021, against 10,945 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 Hexham’s residents
What is the population of Hexham?
The 2021 Census counted 10,945 people in Hexham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,700 people in mid-2024, 1% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hexham?
The median age was 51.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 91% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hexham?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hexham?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Hexham good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hexham’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.