# Most and least densely populated places in North East (2021)

Middlesbrough was the most densely populated of North East’s 12 councils in 2021 (population density 2,671 per km²).

Northumberland was the least densely populated (64 per km²). The middle council, Gateshead, had 1,378 per km².

Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place.

| Rank | Area | Population density |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Middlesbrough](https://openindex.co.uk/middlesbrough) | 2,671 per km² |
| 2 | [Newcastle upon Tyne](https://openindex.co.uk/newcastle-upon-tyne) | 2,645 per km² |
| 3 | [North Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/north-tyneside) | 2,534 per km² |
| 4 | [South Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/south-tyneside) | 2,294 per km² |
| 5 | [Sunderland](https://openindex.co.uk/sunderland) | 1,996 per km² |
| 6 | [Gateshead](https://openindex.co.uk/gateshead) | 1,378 per km² |
| 7 | [Hartlepool](https://openindex.co.uk/hartlepool) | 983 per km² |
| 8 | [Stockton-on-Tees](https://openindex.co.uk/stockton-on-tees) | 959 per km² |
| 9 | [Redcar and Cleveland](https://openindex.co.uk/redcar-and-cleveland) | 557 per km² |
| 10 | [Darlington](https://openindex.co.uk/darlington) | 546 per km² |
| 11 | [County Durham](https://openindex.co.uk/county-durham) | 234 per km² |
| 12 | [Northumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/northumberland) | 64 per km² |

Source: Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/wales)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population-density)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population-density)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-east.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-east