Birtley South
Gateshead 026 · 5 sub-areas · 8,407 residents
Gateshead 026 is a residential area within Gateshead, home to around 8,400 people and sitting at the more affordable end of the local market. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £707 a month — well below the UK national median and noticeably cheaper than most English cities. The area skews older than Gateshead as a whole, with owner-occupation the dominant tenure.
Birtley South is a mid-density neighbourhood of Gateshead in the North East region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services.
Overview
What's it like to live in Birtley South?
2 parks and 3 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £785 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Birtley South in Gateshead
Living in Birtley South
Gateshead 026 is a settled, predominantly owner-occupied neighbourhood where the population leans noticeably older than the city average. Around a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and nearly a quarter are aged 50 to 64 — this isn't a neighbourhood defined by young professional churn. The pace here is quieter, and the housing stock reflects that: mostly owner-occupied family homes rather than the converted flats and HMOs you'd find closer to the Gateshead town centre.
On cost, this neighbourhood is competitive even by North East standards. A two-bedroom home runs around £707 a month, well under the UK national median of roughly £1,200, and rents rose by about 5.5% over the past year — roughly in line with regional trends. The median house price sits around £165,000, meaning a deposit is achievable: you're looking at about 2.8 years of saving at a typical local income. Council tax (Band D) comes to around £2,716 a year, which is on the higher side relative to rents, worth factoring into your monthly budget.
Just over 60% of households own their home, and roughly 23% are in social housing — a higher social-housing concentration than in many comparable suburban areas. Private renters make up only around 15% of households, so this isn't a heavily rented neighbourhood. The degree-qualification share is around 23%, somewhat below the national average, and just over 94% of residents were born in the UK — it's one of the least ethnically diverse parts of the region.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 3.9 km away — about a 49-minute walk, so most people drive. Nearly 58% of residents commute by car, and only about 8% use public transport. Broadband coverage is strong, with 98.5% of premises able to access gigabit speeds. For more on specific streets and sub-areas, see the sub-areas list below.
What you'll need on day one
Compare Birtley South with
Frequently asked
- Is Gateshead 026 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, settled area that suits people who want affordable housing and a slower pace. Owner-occupation dominates, the neighbourhood skews older, and there's little of the churn you'd find in more central areas. The trade-off is limited public transport and a school quality picture that's well below the national average, so families with children should research individual schools carefully.
- What is the rent in Gateshead 026?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £578 a month, a two-bed about £707, and a three-bed around £823. These are estimates scaled from Gateshead-wide official data using local sale prices. All three are well below the UK national median, making this one of the more affordable neighbourhoods in England.
- Is Gateshead 026 safe?
- The crime rate is around 93 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, modestly above the UK national rate of roughly 80. The area sits in deprivation decile 4, so it's in the more deprived half of England, which tends to push crime figures slightly higher. It's not dramatically unsafe, but it's not among the lowest-crime neighbourhoods either.
- What's the commute from Gateshead 026 to Gateshead centre?
- Most residents drive — nearly 58% commute by car. The nearest mainline rail station is about 3.9 km away, so public transport options are limited locally. Around 24% of residents work from home, which is relatively high and suggests many have adapted their working patterns to the area's limited connectivity.
- Who lives in Gateshead 026?
- Mostly older, settled residents — nearly half the population is aged 50 or over, and over 60% own their home. Social housing accounts for around 23% of households. It's a low-turnover neighbourhood with very low ethnic diversity and a below-average share of graduates. Not a typical young-professional area.
- What schools are near Gateshead 026?
- There are 57 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 26% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 2.2 km away. Families should look at individual school Ofsted reports rather than rely on the area-level picture.
- Is Gateshead 026 good for first-time buyers?
- On paper, yes. The median house price is around £165,000 and at typical local salaries you'd save a deposit in about 2.8 years — one of the more achievable timelines in England. The area is predominantly owner-occupied, so there's an established buying market. The main caveats are the school quality and car dependency, which may matter depending on your situation.