United Kingdom / County Durham, England
Durham is a cathedral and university city and the county town of County Durham in north-east England, built on a tight meander of the River Wear with its Norman cathedral and castle forming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The compact peninsula old town, the riverbanks and the surrounding hilly countryside make it a strong anchor for local-first discovery and nearby weekend trips into the wider region. Durham is a county durham, england city of about Pending integration in United Kingdom. On the composite city-intelligence score, Durham sits at an early stage relative to the indexed set (50/100).
Image credit: Image: No machine-readable author provided. Jungpionier assumed (based on copyright claims). / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Composite profile
50/100
As a planning anchor, Durham suits local-first research and nearby weekend-rest discovery, with rail links, transport and seasonal details best confirmed through official sources.
50/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 50/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 50/100 | Durham's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Air Quality | 50/100 | Durham's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated. |
| Energy | 50/100 | Durham's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context. |
| Safety | 50/100 | Durham's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available. |
| Internet Speed | 50/100 | Durham's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references. |
| Climate Risk | 50/100 | Durham's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Resilience | 50/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Durham is estimated to be a generally safe city (77/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Durham has a high quality-of-life estimate (75/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Durham scores high for family living (74/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Durham is moderate for remote workers (67/100), based on connectivity, walkability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Durham is high for retirement (71/100), appealing for healthcare access and a clean environment.
Local public safety guidance for Durham, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
| Service | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Universal emergency | 99924/7 | 999 is the primary UK emergency number; 112 also connects to the same service from any phone. |
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Durham, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the United Kingdom emergency profile.
Each emergency contact above is attributed to an official emergency service or government publisher. Confirm current numbers directly with these sources.
Used as the primary attribution for the EU-wide 112 universal emergency number on European country profiles.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare context for Durham, with national-level information from United Kingdom where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Durham, see the United Kingdom healthcare profile.
Official hospital registry
NHS England service finder for locating hospitals and other NHS services by postcode.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Each entry above is attributed to an official government, public health, or recognised health-system publisher. Confirm current information directly with these sources.
Used as the primary attribution for United Kingdom public-health and hospital information.
Used as the official England hospital registry reference for verified facility lookups.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Local mobility context for Durham, with national-level context from United Kingdom where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Durham, see the United Kingdom transport profile.
Each entry above is attributed to an official transport authority, national operator, airport publisher, or government source. Confirm current information directly with these publishers.
Used as the primary attribution for United Kingdom national transport context.
Used as the primary attribution for United Kingdom aviation authority information.
Used as the primary attribution for Great Britain rail infrastructure information.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Durham. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Source-attributed values for Durham will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Durham drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — strong quality of life (75/100), with nearby nature such as North Pennines, Durham Coast.
Strong (74/100) on safety, schools and green space.
Around average cost; about £1,640/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jul, coldest in Jan.
Mainly tourism, hospitality, technology.
An oceanic climate, averaging about 7.9°C.
Higher education is strong (71/100).
Healthcare access is strong (69/100).
Retirement suitability is strong (65/100).
Within ~170 km: North Pennines, Durham Coast.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Durham's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
Durham's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated.
Durham's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Durham's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Durham's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Durham's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living estimates for Durham — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate profile for Durham — Oceanic climate, annual average 7.9°C, comfort score 58/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs profile for Durham — tourism economy, economy score 74/100, key industries including tourism, hospitality, technology. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Education profile for Durham — regional education center, education score 69/100, 4 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement profile for Durham — healthcare access city, healthcare score 69/100, retirement score 65/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Source-attributed visual context for Durham using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Weekend trip planning checklist for Durham — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Durham using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Durham using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Durham. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Coastal cluster · about 18 km from Durham. Explore Sunderland's city intelligence profile.
Nearby city · about 22 km from Durham. Explore Newcastle upon Tyne's city intelligence profile.
Coastal cluster · about 32 km from Durham. Explore Middlesbrough's city intelligence profile.
Nearby city · about 89 km from Durham. Explore Carlisle's city intelligence profile.
Nearby city · about 98 km from Durham. Explore York's city intelligence profile.
Same corridor · about 109 km from Durham. Explore Leeds's city intelligence profile.
Same corridor · about 111 km from Durham. Explore Bradford's city intelligence profile.
Same corridor · about 114 km from Durham. Explore Lancaster's city intelligence profile.
Coastal cluster · about 135 km from Durham. Explore Preston's city intelligence profile.
Coastal cluster · about 141 km from Durham. Explore Kingston upon Hull's city intelligence profile.
Regional discovery collections that include Durham — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Coastal region · 18 places across 75 cities.
Protected landscape · 30 places across 80 cities.
Weekend escapes · 29 places across 30 cities.
Theme-first discovery collections that include Durham — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Atlantic Coast Nature · 17 places across 40 cities.
Coastal Landscapes · 12 places across 80 cities.
Family Outdoor Escapes · 48 places across 80 cities.
Hiking Areas · 50 places across 80 cities.
Nature Photography Spots · 50 places across 80 cities.
Protected Landscapes · 12 places across 80 cities.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Durham, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Durham has a high quality-of-life estimate (75/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure. Visitors can also reach nature such as North Pennines, Durham Coast and Herrington Country Park within weekend range.
Durham has a high quality-of-life estimate (75/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure. It indexes 75/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Durham spends roughly £1,640 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near £873. Overall the city is around average cost for the United Kingdom. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for around-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Durham is moderate for remote workers (67/100), based on connectivity, walkability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Durham's labour market is strong, with opportunities concentrated in tourism and hospitality, technology and education and research. Durham has a tourism-driven economy with strengths in tourism, hospitality and technology.
Durham offers strong infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 77/100.
Durham is a regional education center with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Economics, Social Sciences and Engineering.
Durham offers a moderate student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods and strong quality of life.
Durham has solid baseline healthcare access, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 69/100. Residents have strong access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Durham offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 65/100. Residents benefit from walkable streets and broad urban amenities and day-to-day services.
Durham has an oceanic climate, averaging about 7.9°C annually with roughly 1100 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jul and the coldest Jan. The driest is typically Jun.
Durham is estimated to be a generally safe city (77/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
Durham indexes a walkability score of 83 and a cycling score of 59 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Durham include North Pennines, Durham Coast and Herrington Country Park. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Durham scores high for family living (74/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Durham rates 39/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 57/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as North Pennines, Durham Coast and Herrington Country Park supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
As a planning anchor, Durham suits local-first research and nearby weekend-rest discovery, with rail links, transport and seasonal details best confirmed through official sources. Its standout dimensions are cost of living (50/100) and air quality (50/100). The area most worth watching is climate risk (50/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.
Country context is available on the United Kingdom country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Durham appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used where European city comparisons need monitored air-quality context.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.