Its secondary centre was the former Urban District of Holywood, 8 km northeast of Belfast with a population of approximately 10,000.

The former Borough is often held to be the wealthiest area in Northern Ireland, although there are pockets of deprivation in a string of overspill public housing estates along the Bangor Ring Road.

The borough consisted of 4 electoral areas: Abbey, Ballyholme and Groomsport, Bangor West and Holywood.

† Others include Ann Marie Hillen, who stood under the label Better Bangor Campaign in 1989, having been elected earlier that year in a by-election.

The area covered by North Down Borough Council had a population of 78,937 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.