Durham
City · 48,997 people live here · 16 areas
Check Local Score for Durham as a whole: 64, good, better than 6 in 10 cities. 60 is typical for the country.
Summary · written from the figures for Durham
Durham's centre reads as a place built around students and cathedral tourists as much as anyone settling down long-term: terraced streets climbing away from the river, a sixth-form college and the university itself woven into the same postcode as family semis and Victorian conversions. The median age here sits well below the national average, and you feel it in the shops and the pace — this is a city that skews young.
The practical picture is straightforward if you're commuting or raising children. Durham Rail Station puts you on the East Coast line, useful if work pulls you towards Newcastle or further south, and with 354 local transport stops the city is easy to get around without a car. Schools are a genuine strength — Ofsted ratings across the 25 schools average comfortably above the national norm, Durham Gilesgate Primary and Laurel Avenue Community Primary both rated Good, and Framwellgate Moor Primary carrying an Outstanding badge for those who can get their children in. St Leonard's Catholic School posts a solid Progress 8 score too, which matters if secondary outcomes are on your checklist. Housing is where it gets interesting: the median price of £200,000 is a full 76% above the wider County Durham figure, so you're paying a real premium to be in the city rather than the county around it, yet that same £200,000 sits far below the England-wide median of £281,000. Semi-detached freeholds dominate the sales data, which tells you this is still a city of family houses rather than a flat-dominated rental market, even with the student population.
Pick what matters to you and the areas reorder. Choose an area to see why it ranks where it does, then open its report. Or see the report for Durham as a whole, with every figure and the map.
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Areas ranked overall
Areas are laid out roughly as they sit in Durham, north at the top. Scores are out of 100; 60 is typical for the country.
Framwellgate Moor
64Ranked 1 of 16 by overall. Strongest on affordability (81), weakest on food & drink (34).
Is Durham a good place to live?
Durham scores 64/100 overall, which the scorecard rates as good — 60 is typical for the country.
It stands out for affordability (80) and food & drink (71).
Scores come from official data on safety, schools, transport, prices, health, food & drink and the local environment, for Durham in North East, each measured against the national average.
Summary of Durham
Durham's centre reads as a place built around students and cathedral tourists as much as anyone settling down long-term: terraced streets climbing away from the river, a sixth-form college and the university itself woven into the same postcode as family semis and Victorian conversions. The median age here sits well below the national average, and you feel it in the shops and the pace — this is a city that skews young.
The practical picture is straightforward if you're commuting or raising children. Durham Rail Station puts you on the East Coast line, useful if work pulls you towards Newcastle or further south, and with 354 local transport stops the city is easy to get around without a car. Schools are a genuine strength — Ofsted ratings across the 25 schools average comfortably above the national norm, Durham Gilesgate Primary and Laurel Avenue Community Primary both rated Good, and Framwellgate Moor Primary carrying an Outstanding badge for those who can get their children in. St Leonard's Catholic School posts a solid Progress 8 score too, which matters if secondary outcomes are on your checklist. Housing is where it gets interesting: the median price of £200,000 is a full 76% above the wider County Durham figure, so you're paying a real premium to be in the city rather than the county around it, yet that same £200,000 sits far below the England-wide median of £281,000. Semi-detached freeholds dominate the sales data, which tells you this is still a city of family houses rather than a flat-dominated rental market, even with the student population.