Church of St Thomas the Martyr · Photo: PC78 · CC BY-SA 4.026% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Orrell comes in at 1.7%. The town had 23,412 residents and 10,344 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 45.9 (older than 61% of UK towns). In Orrell, 7.5% of households live in a flat or apartment. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 10% here, more than in 78% of UK towns.
Orrell changed by +5% from 2011 to 2024, behind 62% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Orrell’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 24,800 people in 2011; 26,000 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+21%); the 30 to 44 group moved least (−4%). No year added more people than mid-2018 to mid-2019: 300.
Half of Orrell is over 45.9, older than 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
22% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Orrell, 45.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 84% of UK towns: 7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 34% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 24% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The census found that 5.4% of adults are full-time students in Orrell. Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.3 people, below 57% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Greater Manchester’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
28% of households have dependent children. Little separates the share of one-person households here, 30%, from the figure across England’s towns.
Households in detached houses make up 26% in Orrell, less than in 59% 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 terraced houses: 22% here and 24% across England’s towns. In Orrell, 16% of households have no car or van. 7.5% of households live in a flat, less than in 69% of UK towns; 26% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 3.3% in Orrell, less than in 87% 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
18% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. In Orrell, 98% of residents have English as their main language.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 68% in Orrell, more than in 99% 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: 96% of Orrell · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, above 86% of UK towns. Typically, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and African (0.3%).
Married adults and civil partners make up 50% in Orrell, more than in 62% 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
703 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Where nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, Orrell has 32%.
31% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 31% of adults in Orrell (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 42 in Pemberton North to 48 in Upholland
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Upholland is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Pemberton North the youngest (median age 42). Families with children are most common in Orrell & Longshaw (28% of households).
Among 283 UK towns of 16,000 to 32,000 people, the 68th 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 Bangor (26.4), the youngest, and Brixham (55.6), the oldest. Nearest to Orrell in age: Minster (Swale) (45.8), Shoreham-by-Sea (45.8), Haydock (45.9) and Mirfield (46).
Orrell is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orrell | 23,412 | — | 45.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Wigan | 81,580 | 2.5 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Skelmersdale | 34,921 | 2.7 mi | 38.4 | 16% | 31% |
| Shevington | 5,315 | 2.7 mi | 48.9 | 28% | 25% |
| Billinge | 4,963 | 2.8 mi | 53.3 | 34% | 22% |
| Appley Bridge | 5,131 | 3.2 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 27% |
| Rainford | 5,573 | 3.7 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 22% |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 26,367 | 4 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 26% |
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.
- “Greater Manchester’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Greater Manchester (or England), summed the same way as Orrell’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. Orrell’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 25,505 people in 2021, against 23,412 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 Orrell’s residents
What is the population of Orrell?
The 2021 Census counted 23,412 people in Orrell’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 26,000 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Orrell?
The median age was 45.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Orrell?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Greater Manchester’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Orrell?
26% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.1% didn’t answer.
Is Orrell good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Orrell & Longshaw (28% of households). Schools are on Orrell’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.