Cheshire demographics.
Cheshire · Census 2023 · latest available data
A data-driven statistical profile of Cheshire — town populations, census figures, and key demographic indicators drawn from the latest available official data.
Population
67,736,802
World share: 0.84 %
Median age
40.1
Global rank: #21
Urban population
85.5 %
57,900,076 people
Density
280 / km²
People per km²
Fertility rate
1.57
Births per woman
- 01 / Population
Who lives here, and how that is changing.
Headline population counts, density and household structure, with the six-year growth trend.
- Population basics
- Total population
- 67,736,8022023
- Population density
- 280 / km²UK average
- Yearly change
- 0.34 %227,866
- Urban population
- 85.5 %57,900,076
- Net migration
- 165,790Annual net
- World population
- 0.84 %8,045,311,447
- Population trend
Total resident population in thousands. A rising line means net growth from births and inward migration.
- 02 / Age & gender
The shape of the population pyramid.
Age band distribution split by gender, with dependency and vital statistics.
- Age pyramid
Share of the total population in each age band, split by gender - wide middle bands indicate a strong working-age base.
- Vital statistics
- Median age
- 39.4 yrs40.2 yrs
- Dependency ratio
- 58.456.9
- Male
- 49.3%49.0%
- Female
- 50.7%51.0%
- Aged 65+
- 16.4%18.4%
- 03 / Housing & households
Tenure, dwelling type and household composition.
Census 2021 housing indicators for the area, benchmarked against England.
- Tenure & conditions
- Home ownership
- 61.0%62.5%
- Social rented
- 17.0%17.1%
- Private rented
- 22.0%20.4%
- Overcrowded households
- 6.1%8.4%
- No central heating
- 1.3%1.5%
- Property type mix
Composition of the housing stock by build type, as a share of all dwellings.
- Tenure split
How households occupy their homes - the owned versus rented balance drives local market liquidity.
- 04 / Employment & economy
Where the jobs and the output are.
Labour market headlines and the sector composition of local employment.
- Labour market
- Economically active
- 76.2%75.7%
- Unemployed
- 3.4%3.5%
- Full-time employees
- 42.1%41.6%
- Self-employed
- 11.8%12.4%
- Students (economically active)
- 5.6%5.2%
- Retired
- 20.9%21.6%
- Top employment sectors
Share of total employment by industry - a concentrated profile signals exposure to one sector's cycle.
- 05 / Education & qualifications
Attainment and the local skills base.
School performance and the qualification profile of working-age residents.
- Attainment & schools
- Level 4+ qualification
- 40.2%33.9%
- No qualifications
- 16.0%18.1%
- Apprenticeship
- 5.1%5.3%
- Full-time students 16+
- 8.4%7.9%
- Schoolchildren aged 5–15
- 12.6%12.4%
- Qualification levels
Highest qualification held by residents aged 16+. Level 4+ covers degree-level and above.
- 06 / Health & wellbeing
Life expectancy, access and deprivation.
Population health outcomes alongside primary care capacity and deprivation ranking.
- Health indicators
- Very good health
- 48.6%48.5%
- Good health
- 33.1%33.7%
- Bad or very bad health
- 5.8%5.2%
- Disabled (day-to-day limited)
- 18.2%17.3%
- Provides unpaid care
- 9.1%8.9%
- Life expectancy (male)
- 79.1 yrs79.4 yrs
- Life expectancy (female)
- 82.9 yrs83.1 yrs
- Healthy life expectancy
- 62.4 yrs63.1 yrs
- IMD decile
- 5 of 10-
- Deprivation
5
IMD decile out of 10 (1 = most deprived). The United Kingdom shows variation across regions, with pockets of both high affluence and concentrated deprivation.
- 07 / Ethnicity, language & religion
The cultural make-up of the area.
Census-based breakdowns of ethnic group, country of birth, language and religion.
- Ethnic group
Share of residents by broad census ethnic group.
- Religion
Stated religion at the last census, as a share of residents.
- Origin & language
- Born in the UK
- 83.6%83.2%
- Born outside the UK
- 16.4%16.8%
- English as main language
- 94.2%91.1%
- Cannot speak English well
- 1.4%1.9%
- 08 / Transport & commuting
How people move around.
Commuting modes, journey times, car ownership and network connectivity.
- Mode of travel to work
Primary commute mode for working residents, including those who mainly work from home.
- Network & journey times
- Average commute
- 29 min28 min
- No car or van
- 24.0%23.5%
- 2+ cars or vans
- 34.0%33.1%
- Work mainly from home
- 17.0%21.0%
- Car ownership
Households by number of cars or vans available.
— 09 / Political & administrative
Who governs, and how engaged residents are.
Administrative structure, council tax levels, political control and turnout.
— Governance
- Parliamentary constituencies
- 12
- Council type
- Metropolitan / two-tier
- Council tax (Band D)
- £2,148
- Political control
- Labour majority
- General election turnout
- 62.4%
- Local election turnout
- 31.8%
— 10 / Crime & safety
Recorded crime and its composition.
Police.uk recorded offences, normalised per 1,000 residents and split by offence type.
— Headline rates
- Crime rate per 1,000
- 94.689.7
- Police force
- West Yorkshire Police—
- Year-on-year change
- -2.8%-1.4%
— Crime type breakdown
Share of all recorded offences by category over the last 12 months.
— 11 / Environment & climate
Green space, air quality and climate risk.
Environmental quality indicators and exposure to flooding across the area.
— Environmental indicators
- Green space coverage
- 38.4%40.1%
- NO₂ (annual mean)
- 21 µg/m³18 µg/m³
- PM2.5 (annual mean)
- 9.4 µg/m³9.1 µg/m³
- Area at flood risk
- 6.2%8.0%
- Annual rainfall
- 812 mm838 mm
- Sunshine hours
- 1,4101,493
— 12 / UK Cities
Population of major UK cities.
Top 10 UK cities by population, sourced from the latest available census and administrative data.
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 7,556,900 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 984,333 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 864,122 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 729,977 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 685,368 |
| 6 | Bristol | 617,280 |
| 7 | Glasgow | 591,620 |
| 8 | Leicester | 508,916 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | 464,990 |
| 10 | Leeds | 455,123 |
— 12b / County Towns
Town populations within the county.
Built-up area populations across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| # | Town | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chester | 81,810 | 86,450 | 92,742 |
| 2 | Crewe | 65,669 | 70,101 | 74,123 |
| 3 | Ellesmere Port | 62,081 | 60,572 | 65,421 |
| 4 | Macclesfield | 51,277 | 53,351 | 54,340 |
| 5 | Winsford | 28,922 | 29,756 | 32,527 |
| 6 | Congleton | 25,768 | 26,588 | 30,015 |
| 7 | Wilmslow | 23,129 | 24,424 | 25,728 |
| 8 | Nantwich | 13,617 | 17,172 | 18,734 |
| 9 | Northwich | 14,676 | 15,947 | 18,640 |
| 10 | Alsager | 14,178 | 13,347 | 15,512 |
| 11 | Neston | 14,712 | 14,798 | 14,960 |
| 12 | Middlewich | 13,101 | 13,595 | 14,421 |
| 13 | Davenham | 11,784 | 13,051 | 13,838 |
| 14 | Knutsford | 12,656 | 13,191 | 13,259 |
| 15 | Poynton | 13,396 | 13,161 | 13,004 |
| 16 | Sandbach | 9,546 | 9,798 | 11,290 |
| 17 | Frodsham | 8,908 | 9,032 | 9,099 |
| 18 | Elworth | 5,857 | 6,011 | 7,639 |
| 19 | Bollington | 6,622 | 7,096 | 7,234 |
| 20 | Hartford | 5,515 | 5,558 | 6,697 |
| 21 | Holmes Chapel | 5,669 | 5,605 | 6,670 |
| 22 | Weaverham | 6,293 | 6,087 | 6,269 |
| 23 | Barnton | 6,109 | 6,185 | 6,258 |
| 24 | Cuddington | 4,920 | 5,042 | 5,861 |
| 25 | Helsby | 4,701 | 4,972 | 5,274 |
| 26 | Haslington | 5,075 | 4,855 | 5,046 |
| 27 | Shavington | 4,104 | 3,899 | 4,972 |
| 28 | Rudheath | 4,439 | 4,458 | 4,806 |
| 29 | Alderley Edge | 4,148 | 4,465 | 4,496 |
| 30 | Disley | 3,386 | 3,409 | 3,889 |
| 31 | Willaston | 2,973 | 3,104 | 3,651 |
| 32 | Elton | 3,270 | 3,353 | 3,294 |
| 33 | Tarporley | 2,634 | 2,614 | 3,219 |
| 34 | Kelsall | 2,520 | 2,609 | 2,996 |
| 35 | Pickmere | 2,529 | 2,654 | 2,798 |
| 36 | Tarvin | 2,307 | 2,309 | 2,744 |
| 37 | Lostock Gralam | 1,933 | 1,950 | 2,718 |
| 38 | Christleton (/ Waverton) | 2,657 | 2,626 | 2,671 |
| 39 | Saughall | 2,667 | 2,569 | 2,657 |
| 40 | Prestbury | 2,581 | 2,633 | 2,625 |
| 41 | Willaston | 2,485 | 2,428 | 2,470 |
| 42 | Tattenhall | 1,860 | 1,950 | 2,293 |
| 43 | Farndon | 1,517 | 1,653 | 2,228 |
| 44 | Wheelock | 1,325 | 1,293 | 2,151 |
| 45 | Scholar Green | 1,883 | 1,986 | 2,095 |
| 46 | Goostrey | 2,029 | 2,008 | 1,954 |
| 47 | Rode Heath | 2,150 | 2,019 | 1,902 |
| 48 | Mickle Trafford | 1,831 | 1,822 | 1,843 |
| 49 | Audlem | 1,490 | 1,658 | 1,832 |
| 50 | Kingsley | 1,605 | 1,516 | 1,550 |
| 51 | Guilden Sutton | 1,525 | 1,467 | 1,463 |
| 52 | Chelford | 1,115 | 1,058 | 1,375 |
| 53 | Winterley | 1,211 | 1,197 | 1,369 |
| 54 | Malpas | 1,184 | 1,210 | 1,358 |
| 55 | Mobberley | 1,029 | 1,286 | 1,350 |
| 56 | Bunbury | 1,198 | 1,195 | 1,259 |
| 57 | High Legh | 1,210 | 1,145 | 1,145 |
| 58 | Moston | 680 | 642 | 1,097 |
| 59 | Comberbach | 1,002 | 954 | 954 |
| 60 | Sutton Lane Ends | 996 | 949 | 908 |
| 61 | Wybunbury | 898 | 854 | 892 |
| 62 | Dean Row | 415 | 450 | 859 |
| 63 | Wrenbury-cum-Frith | 671 | 672 | 843 |
| 64 | Butt Green | 87 | 214 | 797 |
| 65 | Weston | 813 | 847 | 789 |
| 66 | Hough | 783 | 808 | 744 |
| 67 | No Man's Heath | 710 | 698 | 725 |
| 68 | Great Warford | 783 | 762 | 724 |
| 69 | Tilston | 631 | 603 | 716 |
| 70 | Littleton | 644 | 647 | 708 |
| 71 | Dodleston | 717 | 715 | 703 |
| 72 | Plumley | 649 | 643 | 701 |
| 73 | Rease Heath | 202 | 226 | 700 |
| 74 | Gawsworth | 717 | 703 | 674 |
| 75 | Wincham (/ Marston) | 560 | 564 | 672 |
| 76 | Duddon | 596 | 655 | 656 |
| 77 | Norley | 654 | 634 | 656 |
| 78 | The Bank | 677 | 674 | 653 |
| 79 | Childer Thornton | 652 | 629 | 642 |
| 80 | Rainow | 663 | 627 | 619 |
| 81 | Ashton Hayes | 599 | 581 | 612 |
| 82 | Great Barrow | 623 | 578 | 595 |
| 83 | Dunham-on-the-Hill | 534 | 501 | 546 |
| 84 | Burton | 554 | 541 | 546 |
| 85 | Somerford (/ Brereton Heath) | 336 | 411 | 541 |
— 13 / English Regions
Regional population comparison.
Population figures for English regions across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| Region | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4,172,174 | 4,533,222 | 4,880,054 |
| East of England | 5,388,140 | 5,846,965 | 6,335,074 |
| North East England | 2,515,442 | 2,596,886 | 2,647,013 |
| North West England | 6,729,764 | 7,052,177 | 7,417,397 |
| South East England | 8,000,645 | 8,634,750 | 9,278,065 |
| South West England | 4,928,434 | 5,288,935 | 5,701,186 |
| West Midlands | 5,267,308 | 5,601,847 | 5,950,757 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,964,833 | 5,283,733 | 5,480,777 |
— Data sources
- ONS — population, age, ethnicity, housing
- Nomis — employment, earnings, qualifications
- Census 2021 (Nomis) — area vs England comparisons
- Police.uk — crime data
- MHCLG — Index of Multiple Deprivation
- Postcodes.io / GeoNames — boundary mapping