The civil parish population was 1 at the 2011 census and has changed to 1.57 million[4] A major housing development, Dallington Grange, is planned to extend Duston northwards towards Harlestone.

[5] Iron ore was first quarried in the district in 1854 and 1855 to the east of the village on land leased from Viscount Palmerston and from Duston Church (St Luke's.)

A branch of the railway connected with a claypit and brickworks and an iron foundry in the St James district of Northampton.

Most of the course of the railway southwards was obliterated when the area was dug for gravel in the 1960s and by the construction of the Northampton Town football ground in the 1990s.

[7][8] The building was demolished a few years later, but the iron gates at the entrance to the works were preserved and still stand on Main Road.

Besides shops and a pub in the village area Duston benefits from its proximity to the Sixfields Leisure retail park, which includes a Cineworld cinema and the Sixfields Stadium – home to the Northampton Town Football Club ("the Cobblers") – a Sainsbury's supermarket and several restaurants and pubs.

On the north-eastern side of the area lies the Lodge Farm industrial estate, where major employers include builders merchants Travis Perkins, XPO Logistics, and a Debenhams distribution centre.

Duston Eldean Primary School lies between the northern section of Main Road and Firsview Drive.

In addition to its 4-16 provision, the Duston School also contains a small sixth form centre offering A-Levels, BTECs and other vocational courses.

The fee paying Quinton House School is located nearby in the Upton area, directly south of Duston.