E63007428 /North East evidence profile
North East evidence profile
Darlington digital planning profile
Darlington is a large, non-coastal built-up area in North East. ONS records show a 2021 population of 93,058; the population grew steadily between 2001 and 2021, while the 2015 to 2024 employment series shows modest employment growth. This profile turns those public observations into a reviewable website-planning brief without claiming that the figures measure searches, leads or Mosalio's physical presence.
01 / Data snapshot
What the reviewed source records
- BUA24 code
- E63007428
- ITL1 region
- North East
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Higher deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
3.3% below the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
6.4% above the 0% dataset median.
55.3% below the 224.1% dataset median.
These medians use every complete England record accepted from the same ONS file. They are descriptive context, not targets, forecasts or a national demand model.
03 / Distinctive pattern
Where this record sits within 936 complete England profiles
Highest decile · percentile position 91.8 of 100.
Lowest decile · percentile position 8.3 of 100.
Lowest decile · percentile position 8.7 of 100.
These are the three values furthest from the middle percentile position for this record. A higher position means a higher published value, not a better outcome or evidence of search demand.
Evidence fingerprint: sha256:3c66731b990…948693c5553b
04 / Constrained peers
Three named comparisons from the same reviewed source
Each peer is selected from all 936complete England records using the documented eight-metric distance. Deltas are Darlington minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Darlington is higher.
Regional peer
Gateshead · E63007200
North East. Nearest complete record in North East. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- -21,767 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +4.9 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -1.2 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -1.8 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£2,995
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -16.3 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.3 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.7 pp
Classification peer
Wigan · E63008282
North West. Nearest complete record outside North East with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +11,544 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +1.4 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +1.1 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +1.1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£5,005
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -31.2 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.5 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.4 pp
National peer
Carlisle · E63007229
North West. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +15,329 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -2.9 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +2.5 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +6.4 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£14,245
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -21.8 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.1 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +0.9 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Darlington evidence synthesis: 2021 population, 2023 median house price, House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
Darlington is recorded as a large, non-coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city. This classification sets a transparent frame for the three observations below; it is not a persona, a service-area promise or proof of local search demand. Each finding pairs one distinctive percentile measure with one independently selected peer and one explicit validation route.
Eight-metric evidence matrix
The matrix shows every measure used by the peer-distance method, not only the three most distinctive values. Direction describes the published value relative to the middle percentile position; it is not a positive or negative judgement.
Highest-to-lowest percentile order: 2021 population → Economic inactivity → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population aged under 25 → Population aged 65 or over → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → 2023 median house price.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2021 population → 2023 median house price → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Economic inactivity → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population aged under 25 → Population aged 65 or over.
Regional peer
2021 population: 93,058 · Gateshead delta -21,767 people
Darlington's 2021 population is 93,058, a highest decile result at percentile 91.8 among 936 complete England records. The same-source regional check uses Gateshead, classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working. The Darlington-minus-Gateshead delta on this metric is -21,767 people. This evidence can narrow a discovery question around content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, while task-frequency interviews and observed completion data supplies the user-level check the aggregate data cannot provide. Keep the inference narrow: population size does not establish addressable demand.
Classification peer
2023 median house price: £144,995 · Wigan delta -£5,005
At £144,995, 2023 median house price places Darlington in the lowest decile and at percentile 8.3 of the reviewed distribution. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Wigan supplies the classification reference; Darlington is -£5,005 from it on the displayed scale. Treat this combination as a hypothesis about pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting, and test it through comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees. This remains contextual evidence—a median house price is not a household affordability measure.
National peer
House-price growth, 2001 to 2023: 168.8% · Carlisle delta -21.8 pp
For house-price growth, 2001 to 2023, the source reports 168.8% for Darlington. That sits in the lowest decile, 41.3 percentile points from the middle position. Using Carlisle as the national peer, the profile-minus-peer delta is -21.8 pp; the peer was selected because nearest remaining complete england record. For planning, document the observation beside how dated economic context is labelled and maintained and require source-date checks and user tests for interpretation before treating the idea as an accepted requirement. No user or market conclusion follows automatically; historic price growth cannot support a current revenue claim.
Together, 2021 population, 2023 median house price, house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 and the constrained comparisons with Gateshead, Wigan, Carlisle create three separate research tracks for Darlington. They do not form a demand score. Keep each hypothesis independently testable, record contradictory findings and remove a planning assumption when user evidence does not support it.
06 / Evidence interpretation
Planning signals before design decisions
Population context: 93,058 people in 2021
Darlington's recorded population changed from 86,255 in 2001 to 93,058 in 2021 (+7.9%). This historical direction can inform content governance and capacity planning, but it is not a forecast and does not establish demand for a particular service.
Audience context: 19.9% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 17,151 people aged 0 to 15, 8,774 aged 16 to 24, 48,604 aged 25 to 64 and 18,488 aged 65 or over. Small differences from the headline population reflect the published source series; percentages here use the age-group total and should guide testing questions, not stereotypes.
Activity context: 40.7% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 40.7%. The published composition includes 24.2% retired, 5.1% long-term sick or disabled, 3.8% students and 4.6% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £144,995 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £53,950 in 2001 to £140,000 in 2021 and £144,995 in 2023, a published change of +168.8%. It is contextual evidence only—not a current affordability, revenue or customer-value estimate.
07 / Independent question set
Questions this evidence cannot answer on its own
These questions convert the profile-specific observations into falsifiable discovery work. They are not recommendations to create a service, location or page, and each needs direct user or behavioural evidence before it changes a website brief.
- 01
How should a prototype test content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions without assuming that Darlington's percentile 91.8 position predicts an individual user's needs?
The prompt combines one distinctive metric with the named regional comparator selected by the eight-metric method. It does not treat either record as search, lead or customer evidence.
- 02
If the classification peer delta of -£5,005 is included in a brief, what decision about pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting could it inform and what result would falsify that hypothesis?
Evidence basis: £144,995, lowest decile, with Darlington minus the classification peer equal to -£5,005. Validation route: comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees.
- 03
Before prioritising how dated economic context is labelled and maintained, which part of source-date checks and user tests for interpretation would verify whether this house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 observation matters to users in Darlington?
Evidence basis: 168.8%, lowest decile, with Darlington minus the national peer equal to -21.8 pp. Validation route: source-date checks and user tests for interpretation.
- 04
For Darlington's large, non-coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2021 population, 2023 median house price, house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Gateshead, Wigan, Carlisle—and define a user-research or behavioural measure for each question before changing navigation, page scope or conversion paths. The observations share one source but do not demonstrate causation.
08 / Practical brief
Website-planning recommendations for this evidence pattern
- 01
Separate employer and customer journeys
Darlington is classified as a working town. A useful website brief should separate recruitment, procurement and customer tasks, then give each journey its own proof, contact route and success measure instead of forcing every visitor through one generic enquiry page.
- 02
Differentiate from the nearby major centre
Darlington is nearer to a major town or city. Use specific offer boundaries, proof and response expectations to explain why the organisation is relevant; do not rely on a place-name heading or create a doorway that simply redirects users to a national service page.
- 03
Build a broad, task-led accessibility baseline
52.3% of the recorded 2021 age-group total is aged 25 to 64, with meaningful younger and older groups also present. Organise content by task, test keyboard and mobile use, and avoid designing around one assumed demographic persona.
- 04
Prioritise clarity before catalogue expansion
Darlington recorded +7.9% population change from 2001 to 2021 and +6.4% employment change from 2015 to 2024. Start with the few journeys that can be maintained well, instrument meaningful outcomes and expand only when verified questions or search data show a separate need.
09 / Method and limits
What this profile can—and cannot—support
This is a Mosalio editorial interpretation of the ONS May 2026 dataset for BUA24 code E63007428. The source periods differ by metric; values are historical, not live. The profile deliberately excludes ONS experimental visitor-to-resident fields and makes no claim about search volume, rankings, customers, a Mosalio office or physical delivery in Darlington.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Darlington.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Understanding towns in England and Wales, investigating socioeconomic trends, released . This Mosalio interpretation was first published on and last reviewed on .
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How this page was made: Mosalio applies one documented, deterministic transform to the validated ONS record, calculates the displayed comparisons, and renders the result from source-controlled data. It is an automated public-data resource, not individually commissioned local market research. A portfolio-level editorial-value review checks every profile's source identity, distinctive metrics, peer evidence, synthesis and planning questions before index eligibility can be enabled.
Analysis basis: Midrank percentile across all accepted England records; a higher percentile means a higher published value, not a better outcome. Root-mean-square Euclidean distance across eight clipped robust z-scores; population and 2023 house price are log-transformed before median/MAD scaling.