North Yorkshire (district)

"County of North Yorkshire" redirects here. For the ceremonial county, see North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire
Unitary authority area
Ripon, the only city in the district and its third-largest settlement
North Yorkshire district shown within North Yorkshire ceremonial county
Coordinates: 54°10′N1°20′W / 54.167°N 1.333°W / 54.167; -1.333
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire
Combined authority	York and North Yorkshire
Incorporated	1 April 2023
Administrative HQ	County Hall, Northallerton
Government [1]
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	North Yorkshire Council
•  Executive	Leader and cabinet
•  Control	No overall control
Area [2]
• Total	8,037 km2 (3,103 sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Population  (2024) [2]
• Total	635,270
• Rank	3rd
• Density	79/km2 (200/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2021) [3]
•  Ethnic groups	List 96.7% White 1.4% Asian 1.1% Mixed 0.4% Black 0.5% other
Religion (2021) [3]
•  Religion	List 55.6% Christianity 36.9% no religion 0.5% Islam 0.3% Buddhism 0.3% Hinduism 0.1% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism 0.4% other 5.8% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	List BD20, BD22–24 DL6–11 HG LA2, LA6 LS17, LS21–25, LS29 TS9 YO7, YO8, YO11–14, YO17–24, YO26, YO30, YO51, YO60–62
GSS code	E06000065
Website	northyorks.gov.uk

North Yorkshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Officially the County of North Yorkshire, the area is both a non-metropolitan county and district for local government purposes. It covers a large, mostly rural area in northern Yorkshire, stretching from the North York Moors on the eastern coast to the Yorkshire Dales in the west.

The non-metropolitan county is the largest local government area in England, with an area of 2,483 square miles (6,430 km²). Alongside the City of York and the boroughs of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees (south of the River Tees), forms the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. ^[4]

It is governed by the North Yorkshire Council, which has been a unitary authority since 2023, when it took over the functions of the councils of seven thereafter-abolished districts: Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Scarborough, Richmondshire, Ryedale and Selby. ^[5]

History

Boundaries of the seven defunct districts within North Yorkshire District

Former non-metropolitan districts ^[5]

#	Local authority	2011 census	2021 census
1	Harrogate	157,869 [6]	164,105
2	Scarborough	108,793 [7]	108,959
3	Hambleton	89,140 [8]	91,037
4	Selby	83,449 [9]	92,401
5	Craven	55,409 [10]	57,090
6	Richmondshire	51,965 [11]	50,358
7	Ryedale	51,751 [12]	54,897

The non-metropolitan county became a unitary authority area on 1 April 2023, following the merger of the above boroughs and districts as part of the 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England.

Governance

County Hall, the district administrative centre in Northallerton

North Yorkshire Council has 90 councillors which elect a council leader, who in turn appoints up to nine councillors to form an executive cabinet. It replaces the former non-metropolitan county which had a cabinet-style council of 72 councillors. ^[13]

Geography

The area is the largest local authority area in England. Larger towns and settlements include Harrogate, Scarborough, Northallerton, Selby, Skipton, Richmond, Malton, Thirsk, Stokesley, Great Ayton, Norton-on-Derwent, Catterick Garrison, Pickering, Helmsley and Knaresborough while Ripon is the only city in the area.

• 
  Harrogate
• 
  Scarborough
• 
  Ripon
• 
  Knaresborough
• 
  Selby
• 
  Skipton
• 
  Whitby

Neighbouring council areas

Local authority	In relation to North Yorkshire
County Durham	North
Darlington	North
Stockton-on-Tees	North east
Middlesbrough	North east
Redcar and Cleveland	North east
East Riding of Yorkshire	South east
City of York	South east
City of Doncaster	South
City of Wakefield	South west
City of Leeds	South west
City of Bradford	South west
Pendle	West
Ribble Valley	West
City of Lancaster	West
Westmorland and Furness	North west

Education

See also: List of schools in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire LEA has a mostly comprehensive education system with 42 state schools secondary (not including sixth form colleges) and 12 independent schools.

References

1. "Your council". North Yorkshire Council. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
2. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, United Kingdom, June 2024". Office for National Statistics . 26 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
3. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – North Yorkshire Local Authority (E10000023)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 29 December 2024.
4. Calkin, Sarah (31 March 2023). "North Yorkshire: 'It's going to be very intense'". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
5. "Transport map of shire county divided into districts". North Yorkshire County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
6. "Harrogate Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
7. "Scarborough Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
8. "Hambleton Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
9. "Selby Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
10. "Craven Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
11. "Richmondshire Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
12. "Ryedale Local Authority" . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
13. "North Yorkshire County Council Constitution". North Yorkshire County Council. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.