Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.056% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 85% of UK towns
With a median age of 41.6, Warrington is younger than 71% of UK towns. Across Warrington, 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. The 2021 Census put the city’s population at 174,968, in 75,473 households. The share of households without a car or van tops 68% of UK towns: 19%.
Warrington’s population moved +7% on 2011, less than in 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Warrington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 168,700 people in 2011; 180,900 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2013: 1,840 more people. Change by age ran from +31% for the 65 and over to −9% for the 16 to 29.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 70% of UK towns: 10%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
At 18%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is in line with the figure across England’s towns. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 50–54 is the most common age band: 7.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Warrington, 41.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 70% of UK towns: 5.3% of adults are full-time students
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
33% of Warrington’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. In Warrington, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A larger share of shared households of unrelated adults than 57% of UK towns: 2.5%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Compared with 30% across England’s towns, 31% of households are one person living alone here. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. Households with dependent children account for 28%.
Households in flats: 13%, a higher share than 62% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Households in detached houses: 22%, below just over two thirds of UK towns. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 24%. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
94% of residents have English as their main language, below 83% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (5.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2.6%). On residents born outside the UK, Warrington sits higher than 75% of UK towns: 10%. Against that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 24% (England’s towns: 21%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 87% in Warrington, less than in 74% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 87% of Warrington · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (6%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (1.2%). Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 35% of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 83% of UK towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 45% in Warrington, less than in 66% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 4,595. More unpaid carers than in 55% of UK towns: 9.5%. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
17% of Warrington’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 31% have one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 34 in Bewsey & Dallam to 53 in Appleton
The city’s 22 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Appleton is the oldest area, with 29% aged 65 or over; Bewsey & Dallam the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Kingswood & Whittle Hall (40% of households).
Among 40 UK towns of 122,000 to 236,000 people, the 6th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Cambridge (31.9), the youngest, and Poole (44.6), the oldest. Nearest to Warrington in age: Kingswood and Fishponds (39.2), Sutton (39.4), Richmond upon Thames (41.7) and Southend-on-Sea (41.8).
Warrington sits below 6 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrington | 174,968 | — | 41.6 | 18% | 28% |
| Winwick | 2,062 | 2.4 mi | 46.8 | 20% | 31% |
| Croft | 1,520 | 3.1 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 29% |
| Burtonwood | 3,504 | 3.7 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Appleton Thorn | 1,372 | 3.7 mi | 43.5 | 18% | 26% |
| Newton-le-Willows | 24,651 | 4.4 mi | 38.1 | 15% | 29% |
| Lymm | 11,547 | 4.8 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Culcheth | 6,722 | 5 mi | 50 | 25% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Cheshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cheshire (or England), summed the same way as Warrington’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Warrington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 176,677 people in 2021, against 174,968 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Warrington’s residents
What is the population of Warrington?
The 2021 Census counted 174,968 people in Warrington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 180,900 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Warrington?
The median age was 41.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 71% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Warrington?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Warrington?
35% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Warrington good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Kingswood & Whittle Hall (40% of households). Schools are on Warrington’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.