Photo: Small-town hero · Public domainBurscough ranks above 98% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 63%
The figure for households in terraced houses is 14% in Burscough and 24% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.1%. Households in detached houses are rarer here than in 64% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 8,773 residents in 3,750 households.
Since 2011, Burscough has grown +12%, faster than 66% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Burscough’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,200 people in 2011; 10,300 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 310 people. The 65 and over age group changed most (+35%) and the 0 to 15 least (+1%).
Above 76% of UK towns: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 8.5% of residents. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. With a median age of 44.8, Burscough is older than 52% of UK towns. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Burscough, 44.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Burscough ranks below 78% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 7.4%
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 full-time students is 7.9%; Burscough has 6%. Measured more widely, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Burscough households average 2.3 people, larger than in 64% 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.
28% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). Households with dependent children are more common here than in just over three fifths of UK towns.
Fewer households without a car or van than 60% of UK towns: 14%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%; Burscough has 12%. To put it in context, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Only 3.1% of Burscough’s residents were born outside the UK
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 (1.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On residents whose main language is English, Burscough sits higher than nearly four fifths of UK towns: 99%. Of residents born abroad, 11% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
30% said they have no religion, fewer than in 93% 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 Burscough · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 82% across Lancashire’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Chinese (0.2%). For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
In Burscough, 10% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 71% 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
Against a figure of 39% across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married in Burscough comes in at 33%. To put it in context, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. 241 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
33% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Burscough, 33% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 16% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000 people, the 237th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Burscough in age: Ryton (44.8), Gildersome (44.8), Cottenham (44.8) and Yatton (44.8).
Around Burscough, 5 of 7 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burscough | 8,773 | — | 44.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Rufford | 1,562 | 2.3 mi | 52.4 | 28% | 23% |
| Parbold | 2,409 | 2.9 mi | 53.2 | 31% | 24% |
| Ormskirk | 27,720 | 3.2 mi | 38.7 | 22% | 23% |
| Skelmersdale | 34,921 | 4.4 mi | 38.4 | 16% | 31% |
| Croston | 2,793 | 5.3 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 29% |
| Appley Bridge | 5,131 | 5.4 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 27% |
| Eccleston | 4,543 | 5.8 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 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.
- “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 Burscough’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. Burscough’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,624 people in 2021, against 8,773 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 Burscough’s residents
What is the population of Burscough?
The 2021 Census counted 8,773 people in Burscough’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,300 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Burscough?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 52% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Burscough?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Burscough?
30% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Burscough good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Burscough’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. 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.