Photo: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.038% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 93% of UK towns
The figure for households in flats is 5.5% in Carnforth and 23% across England’s towns. 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 87% of UK towns. This Lancashire town is home to 5,852 residents in 2,600 households, by the 2021 Census. For Carnforth, the census puts households with dependent children at 26%.
What the Census says about Carnforth’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Carnforth at 5,600 in 2011 and 5,500 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 87% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A change of −1% since 2011 leaves Carnforth behind 87% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Carnforth’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,600 people in 2011; 5,500 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+33%) and the 16 to 29 least (−18%).
Carnforth is older than 61% of UK towns: a median age of 46
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: 7.9% of residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 23%, more than in 61% of UK towns. Here nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Carnforth, 46. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4.2% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 75% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 8.2%, Carnforth is behind 61% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 69% 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.
In Carnforth, 31% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. Locally, 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in detached houses make up 25% in Carnforth, less than in 61% 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 without a car or van make up 14%, against 24% across England’s towns. For households in detached houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 21%.
In Carnforth, 4.1% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 77% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 65% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up a tenth of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Carnforth sits above 76% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (95%)
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: 95% of Carnforth · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On residents with no religion, 37% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Bangladeshi (0.3%).
Fewer adults who have never married than 60% of UK towns: 31%
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
In Carnforth, 9.9% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 159 people. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 47% here, fewer than in 53% of UK towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 28% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 16% hold no qualification (18%).
Of 624 UK towns its size (4,000 to 8,000 people), the 305th 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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Carnforth in age: Undy and Magor (45.9), Middleton St George (46), Drighlington (46) and Middleton Cheney (46).
Carnforth and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnforth | 5,852 | — | 46 | 23% | 26% |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 1.4 mi | 54.5 | 31% | 19% |
| Bolton-le-Sands | 6,728 | 2.2 mi | 53.9 | 32% | 21% |
| Halton | 2,652 | 3.3 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 27% |
| Silverdale | 1,056 | 3.6 mi | 61.5 | 43% | 14% |
| Caton | 2,552 | 4.2 mi | 49.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Burton-in-Kendal | 1,341 | 4.5 mi | 49 | 26% | 28% |
| Morecambe | 32,745 | 5.2 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Carnforth’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. Carnforth’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,520 people in 2021, against 5,852 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 Carnforth’s residents
What is the population of Carnforth?
The 2021 Census counted 5,852 people in Carnforth’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,500 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Carnforth?
The median age was 46 at the 2021 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Carnforth?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Carnforth?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Carnforth good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Carnforth’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.