Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0More households without a car or van than 97% of UK towns: 33%
With households in terraced houses at 29%, Blackpool is ahead of 80% of UK towns on that count. 37% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 96% of UK towns. The city had 149,087 residents and 68,600 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 44 (younger than 54% of UK towns). One-person households account for 38%.
+3% since 2011, a pace below 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Blackpool’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 150,700 people in 2011; 155,800 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+12%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−7%). The steepest year was mid-2022 to mid-2023, up 1,470 people.
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 70% of UK towns, at 10%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 44, Blackpool is younger than 54% of UK towns. In Blackpool, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Blackpool, 44. 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.
In Blackpool, 5.3% of adults are full-time students, more than in 70% of UK towns
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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Blackpool has 9.6%. As a reference point, 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.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 88% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Lancashire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
3.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: 25% of the total.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 93% of UK towns: 11%
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
The share of households in flats tops 86% of UK towns: 21%.
Blackpool ranks below 74% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 96%
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (4.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.2%). 7.8% of residents were born outside the UK, a higher share than in 62% of UK towns. Residents whose main language is English: 90% across England’s towns, for comparison. Since 2017: 23% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 60% of UK towns, at 91%
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: 91% of Blackpool · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (4.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.6%). At 51%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 60% of UK towns. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The figure for residents with no religion is 41% in Blackpool and 37% across England’s towns.
11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 86% 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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 8.7% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 23%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Blackpool’s adults: 23% with a degree-level qualification and 24% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 36 in North East Centre to 54 in Cleveleys West
The city’s 24 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Cleveleys West is the oldest area, with 33% aged 65 or over; North East Centre the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Little Layton & Little Carleton (31% of households).
Of 49 UK towns its size (104,000 to 201,000 people), the 4th 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 Salford (29.8), the youngest, and Worthing (44.8), the oldest. Nearest to Blackpool in age: Southend-on-Sea (41.8), Sunderland (42.6), Solihull (44.2) and Poole (44.6).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Blackpool
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | 149,087 | — | 44 | 21% | 25% |
| Staining | 1,622 | 1.9 mi | 43.9 | 18% | 36% |
| Poulton-le-Fylde | 12,792 | 2.4 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Carleton | 4,793 | 2.7 mi | 52.2 | 29% | 24% |
| Thornton | 19,263 | 4.1 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 25% |
| Cleveleys | 11,121 | 4.4 mi | 54.3 | 33% | 19% |
| Lytham St Anne's | 42,693 | 5 mi | 54.4 | 32% | 19% |
| Hambleton | 2,428 | 5 mi | 51.8 | 32% | 23% |
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.
- “Lancashire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Lancashire (or England), summed the same way as Blackpool’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. Blackpool’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 151,635 people in 2021, against 149,087 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 Blackpool’s residents
What is the population of Blackpool?
The 2021 Census counted 149,087 people in Blackpool’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 155,800 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Blackpool?
The median age was 44 at the 2021 Census, younger than 54% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blackpool?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 7.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Blackpool?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Blackpool good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Little Layton & Little Carleton (31% of households). Schools are on Blackpool’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.