Photo: Mike Quinn · CC BY-SA 2.0

56.7Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Half of Riding Mill is over 56.7, older than 98% of UK towns

Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Riding Mill comes in at 67%. Census day 2021: 802 residents and 360 households here. Households without a car or van account for 6.4%. Lower than in 87% of UK towns: 25% of households are one person living alone.

38%aged 65 or over 5.3%born abroad 360households

Ages

38% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

Riding MillEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (6.1%), Riding Mill is below 99% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1513%

15 to 246.1%

25 to 4414%

45 to 6429%

65 and over38%

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Riding Mill

England

WomenMen

About 91 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.

Students & newcomers

Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 97% of UK towns: 6%

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

Full-time students4.4%

Higher managerial and professional29%

Lower managerial and professional27%

Intermediate9%

Small employers and self-employed13%

Supervisory and technical2.5%

Semi-routine7.6%

Routine3.6%

Never worked or long-term unemployed3.9%

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Riding Mill

6.2%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 6%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 4.4% in Riding Mill. As a reference point, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.

Households

Fewer family households than 93% of UK towns: 21% in Riding Mill

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 16%Living alone, under 66 8.9%Families with dependent children 21%Couples and families, no young children 52%Shared houses and other 2.2%

Against Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns

Riding Mill

Northumberland’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person25%

2 people48%

3 people12%

4 people11%

5 or more4.2%

England’s towns.

2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households with dependent children across England’s towns: 29%.

Homes & cars

Riding Mill sits above 94% of UK towns for households in detached houses (57%)

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Riding Mill

Northumberland’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van6.4%

One44%

Two37%

Three or more12%

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

Households in terraced houses: 11%, below 86% of UK towns. For Riding Mill, the census puts households in flats at 5.6%. By way of comparison, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Riding Mill sits above 90% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)

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%

Riding Mill

5.3%

Northumberland’s towns

3.5%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.5%

Another main language, little or no English0.4%

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.1%) or in Africa (1%). Lower than in 61% of UK towns: 5.3% of residents were born outside the UK.

Ethnicity & religion

96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 83% 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

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White3.1%

Asian0.5%

Mixed0.8%

Black0%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 96% of Riding Mill · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion41%

Christian53%

Muslim0.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.3%

Other religion0.6%

Didn’t answer4.8%

0%30%60%

Next after White British come Other White (3.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.4%). At 53%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 73% of UK towns. Asked about religion, 41% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

A lower share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns, at 17%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership17%

Married or civil partnership67%

Separated1.2%

Divorced7.7%

Widowed6.5%

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

84residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 11%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.7%

20 to 49 hours2.1%

50 hours or more2.1%

With unpaid carers at 11%, Riding Mill is ahead of 84% of UK towns on that count. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 16 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.

Qualifications

Among adults, 56% hold a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications8.9%

Apprenticeship3.2%

A levels or similar13%

Degree level56%

Riding MillNorthumberland’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications are held by 56% of adults in Riding Mill (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 8.9% (England’s towns: 18%).

Neighbours

1 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Riding Mill

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

CorbridgeStocksfieldOvinghamPrudhoeHexhamAcombWylamRiding Mill

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Riding Mill	802	—	56.7	38%	21%
Corbridge	2,888	2.5 mi	57.9	38%	17%
Stocksfield	1,944	3 mi	54	32%	23%
Ovingham	1,155	4.5 mi	50.6	27%	23%
Prudhoe	10,285	4.9 mi	45.7	21%	27%
Hexham	10,945	5.5 mi	51.8	29%	22%
Acomb	1,155	6.2 mi	51.2	30%	23%
Wylam	1,661	6.3 mi	51.1	28%	25%

More about Riding Mill’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Riding Mill’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 Riding Mill’s residents

What is the population of Riding Mill?

The 2021 Census counted 802 people in Riding Mill’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Riding Mill?

The median age was 56.7 at the 2021 Census. 6.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 38% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Riding Mill?

96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Riding Mill?

41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.

Is Riding Mill good for families?

21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Riding Mill’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.