Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0A median age of 63.8: Lesbury is older than 99% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 97%, against 73% across England’s towns. Households with dependent children account for 13%. Few places have so few households without a car or van: 8.2% here, fewer than in 91% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 345 residents in Lesbury, living in 170 households.
48% of Lesbury is 65 or over, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 13% of residents, 2.8 times the share across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 6.1%, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
3.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 95% 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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 7.3% in Lesbury and 11% across England’s towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households here average 2 people, below 97% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. The share of one-person households stands at 26%.
82% of households live in a detached house, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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 4.1%, against 24% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
In Lesbury, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 98% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born outside the UK: 3.5% here and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in Africa (0.9%). The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%.
24% said they have no religion, fewer than in 98% 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: 97% of Lesbury · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 68% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%.
Married adults and civil partners make up 70% in Lesbury, more than in 99% of UK towns
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 9. Lower than in 97% of UK towns: 6.7% of residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. Nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 14% in Lesbury.
56% 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 56% of adults in Lesbury (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 9% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Lesbury
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesbury | 345 | — | 63.8 | 48% | 13% |
| Longhoughton | 1,173 | 2.3 mi | 45.5 | 18% | 30% |
| Alnwick | 8,432 | 3 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 20% |
| Shilbottle | 1,787 | 3 mi | 46.2 | 20% | 27% |
| Warkworth | 1,412 | 4.1 mi | 63.1 | 46% | 11% |
| Amble | 5,852 | 5 mi | 51.1 | 27% | 21% |
| South Broomhill | 1,520 | 7.1 mi | 39 | 12% | 16% |
| Felton | 1,270 | 7.5 mi | 55 | 29% | 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 Lesbury’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 Lesbury’s residents
What is the population of Lesbury?
The 2021 Census counted 345 people in Lesbury’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Lesbury?
The median age was 63.8 at the 2021 Census. 6.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 48% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lesbury?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 3.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lesbury?
24% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.7% didn’t answer.
Is Lesbury good for families?
13% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lesbury’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.