The Old Vicarage · Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0More terraced houses than 97% of UK towns: 46% of households
Set against 73% across England’s towns, 95% of residents describe themselves as White British in Ovingham. There were 549 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 1,155 residents. On the census count, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. Lower than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 6.6% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What the Census says about Ovingham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Ovingham’s residents are under 50.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
132 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 96% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Ovingham is older than 88% of UK towns: a median age of 50.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 8.9% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 27%. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
Ovingham ranks below 75% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 7.5%
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Ovingham has 40% and 20%. Full-time students account for 5.3%. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 91% 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.
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Ovingham has 34%. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.8% of the total.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 69% of UK towns: 22%
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
Here, 16% of households have no car or van. 6.6% of households live in a flat, less than in 74% of UK towns; 22% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.4%) and in EU countries (0.9%). Set beside that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Ovingham has fewer residents born outside the UK than 86% of UK towns, at 3.4%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 57% in Ovingham, more than in 88% 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 Ovingham · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 38% in Ovingham. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Mixed or multiple (1.9%), Other White (1.7%) and Indian (0.4%).
A higher share of unpaid carers than 96% of UK towns, at 12%
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 35 people. Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 28% here, fewer than in 78% of UK towns. The share of married adults and civil partners tops nearly three fifths of UK towns: 49%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 39%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Ovingham, 14%, while 39% hold one at degree level (34%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Ovingham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ovingham | 1,155 | — | 50.6 | 27% | 23% |
| Prudhoe | 10,285 | 0.9 mi | 45.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Wylam | 1,661 | 1.8 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Stocksfield | 1,944 | 2.4 mi | 54 | 32% | 23% |
| Crawcrook and Greenside | 7,544 | 3.2 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Heddon-on-the-Wall | 1,300 | 3.4 mi | 58.2 | 37% | 17% |
| Chopwell | 2,530 | 4.1 mi | 43.6 | 22% | 20% |
| High Spen | 1,933 | 4.4 mi | 49 | 24% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Ovingham’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 Ovingham’s residents
What is the population of Ovingham?
The 2021 Census counted 1,155 people in Ovingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ovingham?
The median age was 50.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ovingham?
95% 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 Ovingham?
38% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 3.1% didn’t answer.
Is Ovingham good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ovingham’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.