# Biggest and smallest places in North East by population (2025)

County Durham was the most populated of North East’s 12 councils in 2025 (population estimate 539,146).

Hartlepool was the least populated (99,656). The middle council, Stockton-on-Tees, had 207,158.

| Rank | Area | Population estimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [County Durham](https://openindex.co.uk/county-durham) | 539,146 |
| 2 | [Northumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/northumberland) | 333,975 |
| 3 | [Newcastle upon Tyne](https://openindex.co.uk/newcastle-upon-tyne) | 320,838 |
| 4 | [Sunderland](https://openindex.co.uk/sunderland) | 287,070 |
| 5 | [North Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/north-tyneside) | 215,401 |
| 6 | [Stockton-on-Tees](https://openindex.co.uk/stockton-on-tees) | 207,158 |
| 7 | [Gateshead](https://openindex.co.uk/gateshead) | 202,509 |
| 8 | [Middlesbrough](https://openindex.co.uk/middlesbrough) | 152,795 |
| 9 | [South Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/south-tyneside) | 151,255 |
| 10 | [Redcar and Cleveland](https://openindex.co.uk/redcar-and-cleveland) | 139,541 |
| 11 | [Darlington](https://openindex.co.uk/darlington) | 113,402 |
| 12 | [Hartlepool](https://openindex.co.uk/hartlepool) | 99,656 |

Source: Mid-year population estimates, ONS population estimates. Period: 2025. Period: 2025.

## Other rankings of this measure

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

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

## How to cite

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