Otterburn’s story
Otterburn: 41% of homes built before 1919
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Otterburn’s built-up area.
41% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
OtterburnNorthumberland
Population 582: a village in Northumberland, North East.
1 place within 12 milesMap →
Photo: G Laird · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
582
Census 2021 · Northumberland council
Median home
£190K
28 sales in 3 years
Median age
55.6
34% are 65+ · Northumberland 25%
Degree level
31%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
15%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Otterburn a good place to live?
There are no grades for Otterburn: with fewer than 1,000 residents, they wouldn’t be fair. The figures on this page are still real. 5 listed buildings, 0 of them Grade I. Over-65s are just over a third of the population.
What makes Otterburn stand out
The 3 things Otterburn does most differently from other towns.
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
0 Grade II*; 3.5 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
34% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
15% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Otterburn.
Who lives here
Children make up only 12% of Otterburn, fewer than in both Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns
People 65 and over make up 34% of the town, higher than both Northumberland’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (18%). Aged 15 to 24: 8.4% of residents. Otterburn has a median age of 55.6 years.
55.6median age
OtterburnNorthumberlandEngland
Ages · share of residents
34%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications22%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level31%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Otterburn | Northumberland | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 9.4% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 7.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northumberland and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Schools
The schools around Otterburn
Its only school is listed below. The town’s primary school has 46 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otterburn Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 46 | D− |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
Work & commute
Fewer commuters in Otterburn work nearby than in Northumberland’s towns or England’s towns: 26% travel under 5 km
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 15% of commuters got to work without a car. Households had £44K a year before tax, close to Northumberland’s towns (£45K) and below England’s towns (£55K). A quarter of commuters who live in Otterburn also work there. Jobs per working resident: 1.1.
15%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving82%
On foot12%
Bus3%
26%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
31%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£44K
mean household income, before tax
2.6%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Buying in Otterburn costs less than in both Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns: the median sale is £190K
68% of households own their home, above Northumberland’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Council and housing-body homes hold 14% of households. Private rents average £695 a month across the Northumberland council area.
£190Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Otterburn£190K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £265,000 | 14 |
| Semi-detached | £173,000 | 8 |
68%
of households own their home · England 61%
18%
rent privately · England 21%
£695
average private rent a month, Northumberland council area
£2,521
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage are rarer in Otterburn than in Northumberland’s towns or across England’s towns: 5.5 per 1,000 residents a year
Over the year to August 2026, 13 offences were reported in Otterburn. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 3 reports per 1,000, below both Northumberland’s towns (16.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 46% were violence and sexual offences.
22.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual6
Vehicle crime3
Damage & arson2
Other theft1
Burglary1
Shoplifting0
Public order0
Drugs0
Anti-social0
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
22.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
5.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
13
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Health
Otterburn is 26.6 miles from the nearest A&E
77% of Otterburn’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, close to Northumberland’s towns (78%) and below England’s towns (82%). Seeing a GP means leaving Otterburn: the nearest practice is 7 miles away. A disability affects a fifth of people in the town.
77%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 77%Fair 17%Bad or very bad 6%
| Census 2021 | Otterburn | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.2% | 6.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 22% | 17% |
82.6
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
86.2
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
History
Otterburn keeps more of its old housing than Northumberland’s towns or England’s towns: 41% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Otterburn keeps 86 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
5listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II5
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
41%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
86
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Otterburn
13pages on Otterburn
The big questions
Safety22.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £190K · rent £695 a monthHousing8 sold in 12 monthsSchools1 state schoolHealthLife expectancy 82.6 (men), 86.2 (women)Work & commute60% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards2.3% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Otterburn’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
BellinghamOtterburn
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otterburn | 582 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bellingham | 1,031 | 6.9 | — | A− | B | B+ |
Bellingham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Otterburn
Who lives in Otterburn?
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 34% of residents were 65 or over and 29% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 12% were under 15.
How many listed buildings are there in Otterburn?
That is 3.5 times the typical UK town for its size. 41% of Otterburn’s homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Is Otterburn expensive to live in?
By type: semi-detached houses £173,000 and detached houses £265,000.
About Otterburn
Village in Northumberland, England
Otterburn is a built-up area of 582 people, in the Northumberland council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
- Population
- 582 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Northumberland
- County
- Northumberland
- Region
- North East
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
- ONS code
- E63000033
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.