Darlington: local statistics
Darlington is a unitary authority in the North East, home to an estimated 113,402 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Darlington, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Full-time employees living in Darlington earned a median £705.20 a week in April 2025 (£36,166 a year). That is 1.9% above the figure for the North East and the 3rd highest of all 12 council areas in the North East. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £662.90, £42.30 lower. In 2015 the residents' median was £488.80, so it has risen 44% before inflation.
113,402 people lived in Darlington in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 1.1% on a year earlier. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +7.0%; the North East grew by 5.8% over the same years. That is the 4th fastest growth of 12 in the North East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
3.6% of Darlington residents aged 16 to 64 (2,490 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for the North East was 3.7%. Twelve months before, it was 3.7%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.4% (December 2025) and 5.9% (August 2021).
The police recorded 90.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in Darlington in the year to March 2026 (10,240 offences in all), the 9th highest rate of all 12 council areas in the North East. A year earlier it was 92.1. In the year to March 2016 it was 74.7 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Darlington is £2,493.83, up £122.23 on 2025-26. That makes it 9th of 12 in the North East, counting from the highest. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,579.21.
An estimated 73.7% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Darlington were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 4.0 points either way; the figure for the North East was 71.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 72.9% to 80.4%.
4,255 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Darlington in March 2026, 7% more than in 2016. That is 38 for every 1,000 residents, the 2nd highest of all 12 council areas in the North East.
Homes in Darlington sold for an average of £159,988 in July 2026, up 2.9% on July 2025. It ranks as close to the middle of all 12 council areas in the North East (6th highest); the average for the North East was £166,943. Prices are 31% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Darlington (£36,166) gives a ratio of 4.4. That ratio is the 8th highest ratio of 12 in the North East.
A girl born in Darlington in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.5 years and a boy 77.7 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.6 years for women and -0.4 for men. It is close to the middle of all 12 council areas in the North East (6th highest for women).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 105,988 |
| 2016 | 106,258 |
| 2017 | 106,541 |
| 2018 | 106,411 |
| 2019 | 106,532 |
| 2020 | 106,827 |
| 2021 | 108,210 |
| 2022 | 109,364 |
| 2023 | 110,776 |
| 2024 | 112,150 |
| 2025 | 113,402 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £121,952 |
| July 2017 | £126,190 |
| July 2018 | £124,845 |
| July 2019 | £123,487 |
| July 2020 | £118,414 |
| July 2021 | £138,266 |
| July 2022 | £148,128 |
| July 2023 | £144,497 |
| July 2024 | £150,007 |
| July 2025 | £155,473 |
| July 2026 | £159,988 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £488.80 a week |
| 2016 | £489.80 a week |
| 2017 | £502.60 a week |
| 2018 | £507.00 a week |
| 2019 | £539.10 a week |
| 2020 | £487.50 a week |
| 2021 | £583.30 a week |
| 2022 | £558.60 a week |
| 2023 | £614.00 a week |
| 2024 | £652.40 a week |
| 2025 | £705.20 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,579.21 |
| 2017-18 | £1,651.07 |
| 2018-19 | £1,748.70 |
| 2019-20 | £1,819.69 |
| 2020-21 | £1,891.65 |
| 2021-22 | £1,986.95 |
| 2022-23 | £2,048.31 |
| 2023-24 | £2,152.96 |
| 2024-25 | £2,258.86 |
| 2025-26 | £2,371.60 |
| 2026-27 | £2,493.83 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 74.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 95.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 118.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 112.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 118.9 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 95.8 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 101.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 106.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 108.4 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 92.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 90.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 73.5% |
| 2016/17 | 75.1% |
| 2017/18 | 74.8% |
| 2018/19 | 75.3% |
| 2019/20 | 74.6% |
| 2020/21 | 72.9% |
| 2021/22 | 76.8% |
| 2022/23 | 78.2% |
| 2023/24 | 80.4% |
| 2024/25 | 76.7% |
| 2025/26 | 73.7% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.1 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.9 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.1 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.4 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.5 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 3,960 |
| 2017 | 4,075 |
| 2018 | 4,015 |
| 2019 | 4,340 |
| 2020 | 4,115 |
| 2021 | 4,105 |
| 2022 | 4,320 |
| 2023 | 4,175 |
| 2024 | 4,130 |
| 2025 | 4,190 |
| 2026 | 4,255 |
Questions about Darlington
What is the average salary in Darlington?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Darlington was £705.20 a week in April 2025 (£36,166 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Darlington?
The ONS estimates 113,402 people lived in Darlington in mid-2025.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Darlington?
The ONS claimant count was 2,490 in August 2026, 3.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Darlington?
Home Office figures show 10,240 offences in the year to March 2026, or 90.3 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How much is Band D council tax in Darlington?
£2,493.83 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the average house price in Darlington?
£159,988 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+2.9% on a year).
What is life expectancy in Darlington?
81.5 years for women and 77.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Darlington
Every body that makes decisions for Darlington, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Darlington council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Darlington in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Darlington: Lola McEvoy (Labour) MP
- Stockton West: Matt Vickers (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the North East
- UK figures: UK average weekly earnings growth · UK population · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the North East: Gateshead · Hartlepool · Middlesbrough · Redcar and Cleveland · South Tyneside · Stockton-on-Tees
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.