Statistical Profiles and Census Fact Sheets

Statistical profiles and census fact sheets are provided in the sections below. Profiles have been produced for a range of sub-county geographies including wards, parishes and towns. In general data used in the factsheets has been taken from the 2011 census. Where possible more up to date information has also been included. Interactive area profiles have also been produced for wards and can be viewed here.
 
More information on the standard geographies used on Northumberland Knowledge can be found in the know guides section.
 
Maps illustrating their boundaries are available here.
 
Custom area factsheets
If you would like a factsheet for a different geography or collection of areas please let us know by emailing knowledge@northumberland.gov.uk. Examples of areas that factsheets could be produced for include school partnerships and local multi agency problem solving areas (LMaps).
 
 
 

 

  • Northumberland is home to 316,000 people and covers an area of 5,013km2 .
  • 97% of its area classed as rural, the county is sparsely populated with 63 people per km2.
  • Half of the county's population live in 3% of urban land found in the south east of the county.
  • 23.6% of residents are over 65 years old.
  • Deaths outweigh births, and this combined with in-migration being slightly higher than out-migration, has produced a slight increase in the population of the county.
  • Life expectancy at birth for males is 79.0 years and 82.2 years for females.
  • 9,000 residents (3%) classify themselves as non-white with the greatest number of these being Asian.
  • 76.5% of the adult population are economically active.
  • Four fifths of residents own their own home.
  • Unemployment levels are higher than the national average.
  • 23,877 (8%) people in Northumberland live in areas within the 10% most deprived decile of the IMD 2015.
More information is available in the Know bulletins and Northumberland facts and figures 2018 .
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released 2011 census data for ward boundaries as they stood at the time of the 2011 census. However, following ward boundary changes in Northumberland after the local elections in May 2013, the factsheets on this page have been reconfigured to the current ward boundaries.

Factsheets for ward boundaries at the time of the 2011 census in Northumberland cn also be accessed to compare against other Census Ward Data released via the ONS, neighbourhood statistics and Nomis websites.

You can download factsheets for the current Northumberland wards using the relevant links below:

Wards in Central Northumberland



Wards in North Northumberland



Wards in South East Northumberland


Wards in West Northumberland

Comparison areas

To discover which ward you live in, go to the postcode search page.

Civil parishes are administrative areas which cover parts of largely rural England, relating to 35% of the population. Where they exist, they are the lowest level of local government. Northumberland has a complete coverage, with 168 parish or town councils serving the population. 

2011 Census fact sheets for all parishes in Northumberland are accessible below.

You can download a compilation of parish factsheets or download each parish factsheet individually via the A to Z listing.

Northumberland parishes with very small populations are provided in a separate list, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) did not produce figures for these parishes but factsheets have been provided based on the closest output area figures. These fact sheets should be used with caution. For more information on parishes with small populations view the ONS web page on best-fit methodology.

To find out which parish you live in, visit the Northumberland knowledge postcode search.

Individual Parish profiles
 
Factsheets for parishes beginning ‘a’ to ‘i’  
Factsheets for parishes beginning ‘m’ to ‘z’  
Parishes with very small populations
The factsheets below have been provided to give a proxy of the characteristics of the population in the parishes of Northumberland with a very small number of people living in them. These have not been assigned an output area by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures in the factsheets relate to the closest 2011 Census output area, listed alongside the parish in the list below and noted at the bottom of the factsheet. These figures should be used with caution and will double count the population counted in other parishes.  
Comparison factsheets

In some instances, there may not have been a corresponding parish or town council for each parish area shown above, and in other instances a parish or town council may operate for more than one parish area. For the latest information on parish and town councils, please click here.

The local development framework for Northumberland categorises the county’s settlements into tiers according to the provision of education, healthcare, employment, retail, community facilities, sport and leisure facilities, and transport linkages. Those in the top tier are regarded as Northumberland’s main towns:
  • ​Alnwick
  • Amble
  • Ashington
  • Bedlington (including Bedlington Station)
  • Berwick-upon-Tweed (including Spittal, East Ord and Tweedmouth)
  • Blyth (including Bebside)
  • Cramlington (including East Cramlington)
  • Haltwhistle
  • Hexham
  • Morpeth
  • Prudhoe
Town Centre Benchmarking
Northumberland County Council commissioned Towns Alive (formerly known as Action for Market Towns), to conduct a series of benchmarking studies into the twelve main and service centre towns (as defined by the core strategy) in Northumberland.
 
Links to neighbourhood planning
The publication of this research is part of a wider initiative by the County Council aimed at promoting and supporting the development of neighbourhood plans in the county's settlements. The reports provide information to assist local stakeholders when developing a neighbourhood plan or other collaborative activity to develop a town centre. How to use this research
The reports are produced using a standard methodology and are nationally benchmarked against studies undertaken elsewhere in the country. It is important to note the reports provide only a starting point for discussion by each individual town’s stakeholders. This data alone should not be considered as giving a full picture of a town’s performance. It does provide a useful guide to current trends based on a snapshot, especially when provided alongside other qualitative and quantitative data available locally.

A particular limitation of the research is seasonality. The reports do not provide time series data over the calendar year; therefore some factors do not give a full picture, particularly those towns where tourism is a major part of the local economy. Furthermore, if there has been a substantial policy change since the reports were undertaken, the data reported does not necessarily reflect this. For instance, in the case of parking, restrictions in a number of towns have changed since the reports were produced.

The core purpose of the benchmarking process is to provide local information that will be useful to town centre stakeholders. In many cases, town councils and other stakeholders played an active part in the surveys of their towns.

The reports are a snapshot in time and are statistical in nature. The qualitative views and experiences of local stakeholders are therefore essential in considering what action is needed in each place as the reports are disseminated later this year.

Whilst the reports are fundamentally local in nature and the best opportunity for use is at the scale of the town, the council has also produced a summary of the key findings of the individual towns to assist stakeholders in gaining a picture of the broad trends for Northumberland overall.

For more information contact: knowledge@northumberland.gov.uk
 
Isochrones show the movement of people between their area of residence and workplace.
 
Average journey time data has been used to create drive time areas of 10, 20 and 30 minutes from each town centre. 2011 Census data is provided to describe the characteristics of the population living in these areas. The factsheets cover resident population, tenure, car or van availability, economic activity status, industry of employment, occupation, socio-economic classification and highest level of qualification.
There is a factsheet for each of Northumberland's 11 towns identified in the local development framework, plus Ponteland. Individual fact sheets Queries and comments  knowledge@northumberland.gov.uk  
 
Non standard 2011 Census factsheets can be accessed below and can also be provided for other non-standard areas. 

Area committees
In order to give local citizens a greater say in council affairs, there are three area committees covering north, south east and west Northumberland. Their aims are to empower citizens, strengthen communities, and improve services. They involve councillors for each area and are held in public.

If you would like more information about area committees you can visit the area committee page here. Links to 2011 Census fact sheets can be found below as well as a map showing the boundaries of each area committee. Please note that these area committees are under review and will be replaced by Local Area Councils in the near future.

High school catchment areas
The catchment areas for Northumberland's high schools and academies can be found below: Alternatively you can download a compilation of all high school and academy catchment area fact sheets.

Planning delivery areas
The council's core strategy proposes the creation of four delivery areas that reflect the different characteristics of the county, should be used to tailor the policy approach to each specific area to better guide the delivery of development in Northumberland.

A map showing the four delivery areas is provided below as well as 2011 Census factsheets for each area. If you would like to know more about delivery areas please visit the council's web page on the local development framework (LDF). Planning areas (34 small areas)
The 34 Northumberland planning areas are used to assess local planning activity in the core strategy, visit the planning policy page to access the local plan and other planning policy documents.

Planning area boundaries align with the housing areas listed below except for Allendale and Haydon Bridge, Bamburgh, Belford and North Sunderland and Wooler and Cheviot, which are each built up of two complete housing areas.

You can download all 34 planning area fact sheets in a single document or you can download them individually below: Housing areas (37 small areas)
The areas below were created to provide analysis below Northumberland level for the Northumberland strategic housing market assessment (SHMA). Visit the housing strategy page for more information and other related documents.

Housing areas correspond to the planning areas listed above but three of the planning areas have been split into two separate housing areas which are noted below.

You can download all 37 housing area factsheets in a single document or you can download them individually below: Northumberland National Park
A fact sheet for Northumberland National Park can be downloaded below and you can also access 2011 Census key statistics tables for  national parks on the ONS website. Local authorities
You can access 2011 Census profiles for the 12 local authorities in the North East region below.
Local authorities in the North East LEP area Local authorities in Tees Valley unlimited LEP area North East LEP, region & England
Links to 2011 Census profiles are provided below. Custom area factsheets
If you would find a factsheet for a different area or collection of areas useful please let us know by emailing knowledge@northumberland.gov.uk. Examples of areas that factsheets could be produced for include school partnership areas and local multi agency problem solving areas (LMaps).