North East
Darlington: house prices, jobs and local statistics
Darlington is a unitary authority in the North East, home to 107,799 people at the 2021 census. The average house price was £159,988 in July 2026, up 2.9% on a year earlier and up 15.7% on five years before. On the ONS figure for July 2026 it had the 337th highest average price of 360 council areas. 3.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August 2026, against 3.9% across the UK. Median full-time pay for people living here was £36,166 a year in 2025 (UK: £39,039). The biggest employing sector is health & social care, with 16.4% of the 54,775 employee jobs counted in 2024.
Darlington house prices
Average price, July 2026
£159,988
North East: £166,943
Change over 1 year
+2.9%
North East: +4.9%
Change over 5 years
+15.7%
Since July 2021
- Detached
- £281,236
- Semi-detached
- £176,241
- Terraced
- £130,183
- Flat or maisonette
- £96,358
- First-time buyers
- £140,848
UK House Price Index, July 2026: HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land and Property Services NI and the ONS. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. About the index.
Ten years of prices and sales in the house price explorerJobs, pay and unemployment in Darlington
Claimant rate, August 2026
3.6%
2,490 people aged 16 to 64. UK: 3.9%
Employment rate, Apr 2025-Mar 2026
73.7%
UK: 75.4% · Annual Population Survey
Unemployment rate, Apr 2025-Mar 2026
5.6%
UK: 4.5%
Economically inactive
22.0%
UK: 21.0%
Median full-time pay, 2025
£36,166 a year
UK: £39,039
Median weekly pay, 2025
£705
UK: £767
The claimant count is people claiming unemployment-related benefits as a share of residents aged 16 to 64; the unemployment rate is the survey measure of people out of work and looking. Pay is for full-time employees who live in the area.
Claimant count, Annual Population Survey and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (resident analysis), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Two years of claimant counts and ten of pay in the jobs explorerWhat Darlington does for a living
Employee jobs, 2024
54,775
50,260 in 2019
Businesses, 2026
3,450
| Sector | Share of jobs | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| Health & social care | 16.4% | 14.1% |
| Retail, wholesale & motor trade | 14.6% | 13.6% |
| Public administration & defence | 11.0% | 4.9% |
| Transport & storage | 9.1% | 4.9% |
| Admin & support services | 8.2% | 8.5% |
| Manufacturing | 7.3% | 7.2% |
Business Register and Employment Survey 2024 (Great Britain only). UK Business Counts 2026. Both via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Every sector and business size in the industries explorerHow Darlington has changed
Residents
99,342 in 1991 → 112,489 in 2024 (+13.2%)
England over the same years: +22.4%
Average house price
£117,724 in 2005 → £159,988 in 2026 (+35.9%)
England over the same years: +85.9%
Median weekly pay
£349 in 2008 → £630 in 2025 (+80.8%)
England over the same years: +63.7%
Employment rate
74.2% in 2004 → 81.2% in 2023 (+9.4%)
England over the same years: +4.4%
Claimant count
3.6% in 2001 → 3.7% in 2025 (+2.8%)
England over the same years: +60.0%
Disposable income per head
£9,407 in 1997 → £21,587 in 2024 (+129.5%)
England over the same years: +143.8%
ONS Explore local statistics, each series from its official producer; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Money figures are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.
Every series, charted, in the trends explorerWho lives in Darlington
Residents, 2021
107,799
People per km², 2021
546
England and Wales: 395
Aged 65 and over
20.3%
England and Wales: 18.4%
Aged under 15
17.1%
England and Wales: 17.3%
Homes owned
62.8%
England and Wales: 61.5%
Homes rented privately
20.6%
England and Wales: 20.3%
Homes socially rented
16.2%
England and Wales: 17.1%
Degree or higher (16+)
29.0%
England and Wales: 33.8%
No qualifications (16+)
19.3%
England and Wales: 18.2%
Good or very good health
79.8%
England and Wales: 82.0%
Born in the UK
92.2%
England and Wales: 83.2%
Census 2021 topic summaries (TS001, TS006, TS007A, TS054, TS067, TS037, TS004), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.
Any neighbourhood's census profile in the census explorerHow Darlington ranks among UK councils
40 official indicators are published for Darlington; 33 of them have a better and a worse direction and are ranked here. A rank of 1st is the best (lowest unemployment, highest pay, and so on).
Where it ranks best
- Housing affordability · Housing4.9× earnings (April 2025) · 23rd lowest of 316
- Business births · Economy & work12.3% (2024) · 67th highest of 361
- Economic inactivity · Economy & work16.0% (2023) · 71st lowest of 348
- Employment rate · Economy & work81.2% (2023) · 78th highest of 348
Where it ranks worst
- Three-year business survival · Economy & work38.6% (2021) · 361st highest of 374
- Productivity · Economy & work£31.1 per hour (2023) · 332nd highest of 361
- Persistent school absence · Education & skills20.1% (2024/25) · 104th lowest of 132
- Library within a 30-minute walk · Connectivity & access57% (May 2024) · 251st highest of 318
ONS Explore local statistics, latest figure for each indicator, ranked among council areas with a published figure; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, each indicator’s producer named on its linked ONS page.
All 40 indicators in the area scorecardHealth in Darlington
- Life expectancy (male) (2025)78.6 years · England 80.0 · 102nd highest of 151
- Life expectancy (female) (2025)82.1 years · England 83.8 · 119th highest of 151
- Healthy life expectancy (male) (2022 - 24)58.6 years · England 60.9 · 101st highest of 151
- Healthy life expectancy (female) (2022 - 24)58.6 years · England 61.3 · 100th highest of 151
- Under-75 mortality, all causes (2025)387.6 per 100k · England 321.0 · 109th lowest of 151
- Adult smoking prevalence (2024)7.9% · England 10.4 · 25th lowest of 148
- Adults overweight or obese (2024/25)67.0% · England 64.6 · 88th lowest of 153
OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-02. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.
The full health profile in the health explorerSchools and children in Darlington
- School readiness (good development at Reception) (2024/25)64.9% · England 68.3 · 130th highest of 153
- GCSE Attainment 8 score (2024/25)44.0 score · England 46.0 · 111th highest of 153
- 16–17 year-olds NEET or activity not known (2025/26)2.2% · England 5.8 · 7th lowest of 150
- Children in absolute low-income families (2024/25)24.8% · England 19.8 · 110th lowest of 153
OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, carrying DfE / ONS education measures. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-04. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.
Nearby schools and more in the education explorerNearby council areas
About these figures
Darlington (E06000005) is a unitary authority in the North East, one of 361 council areas this site covers. Every figure on this page is read from the official source named beneath it and carries its own date; the page is rebuilt at most once a day. Survey figures carry sampling error, so small differences between neighbouring councils are often noise. For a single street or neighbourhood rather than the whole council area, search a postcode on the dashboard.
Sources
- HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (landregistry.data.gov.uk). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, OGL v3.0.
- Office for National Statistics via Nomis (nomisweb.co.uk): claimant count, Annual Population Survey, ASHE, BRES, UK Business Counts and Census 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics, OGL v3.0.
- ONS Explore local statistics (ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics), OGL v3.0.
- OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
- Council area names and codes: mySociety, UK local authority names and codes (CC BY 4.0), from the ONS Register of Geographic Codes.