Lancashire demographics.
Lancashire · Census 2023 · latest available data
A data-driven statistical profile of Lancashire — 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 | Preston | 82,742 | 93,357 | 94,508 |
| 2 | Burnley | 73,803 | 71,450 | 78,270 |
| 3 | Lancaster | 46,653 | 48,308 | 52,660 |
| 4 | Lytham St Annes | 40,350 | 42,568 | 42,689 |
| 5 | Bamber Bridge | 37,604 | 39,644 | 40,357 |
| 6 | Chorley | 34,586 | 37,380 | 39,523 |
| 7 | Leyland | 36,694 | 37,909 | 39,291 |
| 8 | Skelmersdale | 34,064 | 34,047 | 34,907 |
| 9 | Accrington | 32,918 | 32,848 | 34,895 |
| 10 | Fulwood | 34,031 | 33,324 | 34,691 |
| 11 | Nelson | 28,997 | 29,463 | 33,800 |
| 12 | Morecambe | 33,880 | 33,038 | 32,758 |
| 13 | Ormskirk | 23,662 | 24,073 | 27,708 |
| 14 | Fleetwood | 26,841 | 25,939 | 26,232 |
| 15 | Rawtenstall | 22,318 | 22,805 | 23,682 |
| 16 | Penwortham | 21,746 | 21,069 | 20,491 |
| 17 | Thornton | 17,373 | 18,714 | 19,265 |
| 18 | Colne | 18,946 | 18,806 | 18,908 |
| 19 | Euxton | 8,434 | 11,984 | 17,509 |
| 20 | Clitheroe | 14,421 | 14,499 | 16,631 |
| 21 | Heysham | 14,990 | 16,028 | 16,573 |
| 22 | Haslingden | 15,154 | 15,749 | 16,004 |
| 23 | Bacup | 11,797 | 12,416 | 13,562 |
| 24 | Poulton-le-Fylde | 11,386 | 11,728 | 12,793 |
| 25 | Cleveleys | 11,516 | 11,464 | 11,113 |
| 26 | Great Harwood | 11,217 | 10,800 | 11,028 |
| 27 | Barnoldswick | 10,859 | 10,752 | 10,913 |
| 28 | Longton | 10,403 | 10,666 | 10,904 |
| 29 | Oswaldtwistle | 11,593 | 11,165 | 10,815 |
| 30 | Brierfield | 9,439 | 9,030 | 10,721 |
| 31 | Padiham | 9,871 | 9,675 | 10,131 |
| 32 | Kirkham | 8,193 | 8,331 | 8,938 |
| 33 | Adlington | 7,547 | 8,193 | 8,783 |
| 34 | Burscough | 8,006 | 8,447 | 8,765 |
| 35 | Tarleton (/ Hesketh Bank) | 7,933 | 8,315 | 8,759 |
| 36 | Longridge | 7,602 | 7,768 | 8,739 |
| 37 | Coppull | 7,637 | 7,959 | 8,304 |
| 38 | Clayton-le-Moors | 7,974 | 8,206 | 7,966 |
| 39 | Bolton-le-Sands | 6,736 | 6,737 | 6,727 |
| 40 | Whitworth | 6,151 | 6,460 | 6,720 |
| 41 | Rishton | 7,350 | 6,625 | 6,662 |
| 42 | Barrowford | 5,927 | 6,089 | 5,882 |
| 43 | Carnforth | 5,665 | 5,916 | 5,854 |
| 44 | Garstang | 5,471 | 5,607 | 5,804 |
| 45 | Cottam | 2,930 | 3,156 | 5,500 |
| 46 | Church | 4,661 | 4,964 | 5,028 |
| 47 | Carleton | 5,075 | 4,950 | 4,795 |
| 48 | Bailrigg | 4,156 | 5,110 | 4,788 |
| 49 | Preesall (/ Knott End-on-Sea) | 4,441 | 4,695 | 4,678 |
| 50 | Eccleston | 4,315 | 4,234 | 4,541 |
| 51 | Freckleton | 4,713 | 4,594 | 4,479 |
| 52 | Wesham | 3,245 | 3,584 | 4,475 |
| 53 | Banks | 3,595 | 3,872 | 4,430 |
| 54 | Earby | 4,348 | 4,538 | 4,416 |
| 55 | Whittle-le-Woods | 3,713 | 3,911 | 4,389 |
| 56 | Warton [in: Fylde district] | 3,142 | 3,175 | 4,181 |
| 57 | Whalley | 2,101 | 3,203 | 3,411 |
| 58 | Catterall | 1,985 | 2,336 | 2,801 |
| 59 | Croston | 2,380 | 2,614 | 2,791 |
| 60 | Farington Moss | 1,494 | 2,128 | 2,693 |
| 61 | Halton | 2,170 | 2,056 | 2,658 |
| 62 | Grimsargh | 1,882 | 2,341 | 2,596 |
| 63 | Caton | 2,427 | 2,387 | 2,550 |
| 64 | Broughton | 1,735 | 1,722 | 2,467 |
| 65 | Hambleton | 2,194 | 2,247 | 2,428 |
| 66 | Parbold | 2,702 | 2,582 | 2,412 |
| 67 | Myerscough Smithy | 2,398 | 2,467 | 2,411 |
| 68 | Hapton | 1,894 | 1,979 | 2,238 |
| 69 | Hutton | 1,791 | 2,022 | 2,141 |
| 70 | Wymott | 1,546 | 2,179 | 2,091 |
| 71 | Galgate | 1,576 | 2,458 | 2,084 |
| 72 | Gregson Lane | 2,266 | 2,225 | 2,072 |
| 73 | Great Eccleston | 1,646 | 1,657 | 2,068 |
| 74 | Edenfield | 2,080 | 2,053 | 2,051 |
| 75 | Read | 2,020 | 1,968 | 2,050 |
| 76 | Wrea Green | 1,489 | 1,373 | 1,899 |
| 77 | Goosnargh | 1,540 | 1,398 | 1,891 |
| 78 | Warton [in: Lancaster district] | 1,793 | 1,805 | 1,799 |
| 79 | Billington | 1,552 | 1,725 | 1,744 |
| 80 | Langho | 1,703 | 1,737 | 1,723 |
| 81 | Pilling | 1,358 | 1,483 | 1,699 |
| 82 | Staining | 1,353 | 1,368 | 1,620 |
| 83 | Higher Walton | 1,430 | 1,476 | 1,607 |
| 84 | Sabden | 1,371 | 1,422 | 1,583 |
| 85 | Fence | 1,586 | 1,459 | 1,581 |
| 86 | Rufford | 1,452 | 1,420 | 1,559 |
| 87 | Newton-with-Scales | 1,587 | 1,544 | 1,507 |
| 88 | Barton | 1,386 | 1,154 | 1,492 |
| 89 | Barrow | 659 | 646 | 1,390 |
| 90 | Brinscall | 1,431 | 1,388 | 1,335 |
| 91 | Weir | 866 | 1,251 | 1,289 |
| 92 | Huncoat | 889 | 1,242 | 1,257 |
| 93 | Bonds | 821 | 1,172 | 1,237 |
| 94 | Foulridge | 1,201 | 1,159 | 1,211 |
| 95 | Coup Green | 1,408 | 1,309 | 1,207 |
| 96 | Trawden | 1,192 | 1,243 | 1,203 |
| 97 | Stalmine | 1,130 | 1,087 | 1,194 |
| 98 | Chatburn | 1,104 | 1,102 | 1,125 |
| 99 | Charnock Richard | 1,148 | 1,055 | 1,101 |
| 100 | Old Langho | 525 | 1,075 | 1,073 |
| 101 | Silverdale | 1,038 | 1,042 | 1,055 |
| 102 | Elswick | 1,057 | 1,079 | 1,048 |
| 103 | Clifton | 805 | 894 | 1,024 |
| 104 | Overton | 1,015 | 1,069 | 1,014 |
| 105 | Waddington | 878 | 1,028 | 1,006 |
| 106 | Inskip | 878 | 840 | 1,002 |
| 107 | Wheelton | 1,041 | 1,000 | 985 |
| 108 | Worsthorne | 1,038 | 1,028 | 971 |
| 109 | Hurst Green | 905 | 936 | 939 |
| 110 | Mawdesley | 908 | 862 | 914 |
| 111 | Withnell | 920 | 898 | 853 |
| 112 | Ribchester | 873 | 888 | 850 |
| 113 | Higham | 808 | 778 | 844 |
| 114 | Stubbins | 844 | 780 | 828 |
| 115 | Newburgh | 772 | 761 | 754 |
| 116 | Haskayne | 654 | 615 | 715 |
| 117 | Woodplumpton | 534 | 513 | 689 |
| 118 | Bilsborrow | 289 | 287 | 680 |
| 119 | Rising Bridge | 655 | 621 | 639 |
| 120 | Chipping | 653 | 618 | 633 |
| 121 | Bowgreave | 352 | 415 | 613 |
| 122 | Over Kellet | 592 | 581 | 606 |
| 123 | Cliviger | 597 | 561 | 571 |
| 124 | Gisburn | 506 | 521 | 567 |
| 125 | West Bradford | 523 | 548 | 564 |
| 126 | Mossy Lea | 582 | 567 | 561 |
| 127 | Bescar | 532 | 571 | 548 |
| 128 | Sough | 596 | 607 | 508 |
— 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