Built-up areas in the North East

What are built-up areas?

Built-up areas (BUAs) are a geography based on the physical built environment. They are created by using Ordnance Survey topographic information to identify distinct areas of developed land, such as cities, towns, and villages. This allows statistics to be published based on actual settlements rather than administrative boundaries.

BUAs are classified by population size as minor, small, medium, large or major, with the latest classifications based on Census 2021 populations, the latest available population estimates. There will be annual updates as part of the small area population estimates dataset.

The BUA geography was previously two tiered but the new version no longer includes larger areas such as Tyneside and Greater Manchester. Many of the larger 2021 BUAs are effectively successors to 2011 BUA subdivisions. However, populations for these areas at the two censuses cannot be directly compared because of boundary changes.

North East built-up areas (BUAs)

In the North East combined authority (CA) area in 2021:

• About 29% of the population lived in a major BUA (Newcastle) or a large BUA (Sunderland or Gateshead)
• the former BUA type had a population of 200,000 or more, the latter had a population of 75,000 to 199,999
• just over 32% lived in one of the 18 medium BUAs (with populations of 20,000 to 74,999)
• about 21% lived in one of the 44 small BUAs (with populations of 5,000 to 19,999)
• just over 12% lived in a minor BUA (with a population of less than 5,000)
• about 5.3% were in a residence outside of a BUA

At the time of the 2021 census:

• Newcastle was the only BUA classified as major, with a population of 286,000
• Sunderland (168,000) and Gateshead (115,000) were both classified as large BUAs
• County Durham included seven of the 18 medium BUAs and the two largest small BUAs
• both of the latter had populations approaching 20,000 and could be reclassified as medium in future updates
• North Tyneside included four medium BUAs, Northumberland and South Tyneside both included three and the other was in Sunderland
• the seven medium BUAs with the highest populations were South Shields (73,000), Tynemouth (61,000), Washington (51,000), Durham (51,000), Wallsend (45,000), Blyth (40,000) and Whitley Bay (37,000)
• 14 of the 44 small BUAs had a population above 10,000, the threshold for urban settlements in previous rural/urban classifications
• in total, 24 small BUAs had populations above 8,000, with most in Northumberland (nine) or County Durham (six)
• there were almost 150 minor BUAs with only 20 having a population above 3,000 and more than half (84) having a population below 1,500
• about 90% of the people living outside of a built-up area were in Northumberland or County Durham, with almost 47,000 in each.

Geographical comparisons

The North East population's distribution by built-up area type and local authority area is complex. In 2021:

• Newcastle had about 95% of its population in the built-up area (BUA) of the same name, with the remaining 5% in small or minor BUAs or in a non-BUA area
• Sunderland and Gateshead local authority areas both had about 60% of their populations in the BUAs of the same name, with the former also having 19% in the medium BUA of Washington and both including residents in all other types of areas
• none of the other four local authority areas included major or large BUAs apart from a small part of North Tyneside within Newcastle BUA
• South and North Tyneside had the highest percentages of their populations in medium BUAs
• Northumberland and Gateshead had the highest percentages within small BUAs
• County Durham and Northumberland had the highest percentages in minor BUAs or outside of BUAs

The census outputs compare the North East to England excluding London and to the eight core city areas that include England's largest conurbations outside of London. In 2021:

• Compared to residents across England outside of London, North East residents were less likely to live in a major or large BUA, in a minor BUA, or outside of a BUA 
• they were more likely to live in a medium BUA or a small BUA
• the pattern of population by BUA type in the North East was similar to that in the East Midlands CA area, which includes Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
• it differed from all other core city CA areas, with a smaller percentage of people in major or large BUA areas and a larger percentage in small or minor BUA areas
   

Population by age

In the North East in 2021:

• Larger types of built-up areas had younger age profiles than their smaller counterparts
• in particular, large BUAs (Sunderland and Gateshead) had the highest percentage of their population aged 0 to 15
• the one major BUA (Newcastle) had the highest percentages aged 16 to 24 and 25 to 34
• medium BUAs had the highest percentage aged 35 to 49
• people living outside a BUA were more likely to be aged 50 to 64 or 65 plus than those in any type of BUA but were less likely to be in any other age groups

Among the 23 North East BUAs with the largest populations in 2021:

• Hebburn, Stanley and Peterlee had the highest percentages of their resident population aged 0 to 15
• Durham, Newcastle and Peterlee had the highest percentages aged 16 to 24
• Hebburn, Newcastle and Gateshead had the highest percentages aged 25 to 34
• Longbenton, Whitley Bay and Hebburn had the highest percentages aged 35 to 49
• Chester-le-Street, Newton Aycliffe and Seaham had the highest percentages aged 50 to 64
• Chester-le-Street, Whitley Bay and Cramlington had the highest percentages aged 65 and over.

Population density map

The census provides information about the population density of a range of area types and the ONS website has an interactive map that can reveal local patterns within built-up areas.

A version of the map is below, centred on the North East. Information for geographies smaller than local authority areas can be viewed by zooming in further.