Stockton-on-Tees, simply Stockton, is a large market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is between the nearby towns of Darlington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough; to the west, north-east and east respectively.
An unparished collective of wards form the town, with a combined population of 85,000, which is part of the Teesside built-up area. The borough is part of the Tees Valley mayoralty and had a population of approximately 197,348, at the ONS mid-2019 est.
It is a former port town, the River Tees was straightened in the early 1800s for larger ships to access the town. The ports have since relocated closer to the North Sea and ships are no longer able to sail from the sea to the town due to the Tees Barrage, which was installed to manage tidal flooding.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway, on which coal was ferried to the town for shipment, served the port during early part of the Industrial Revolution. The railway was also the world's first permanent steam-locomotive-powered passenger railway, though in recent times Stockton station's importance has declined.