Cross · Photo: Peter Worrell · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 27% of residents said they have no religion in Catterall
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Catterall comes in at 7.6%. In 2021, the Census found 2,800 residents in the town, living in 1,173 households. The census found that 1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. The median age here is 41, lower than in three quarters of UK towns.
What the Census says about Catterall’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Catterall at 2,600 in 2011 and 3,200 in 2024, up 25%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 91% 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.
Catterall’s population changed by +25% since 2011, more than in 91% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Catterall’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,600 people in 2011; 3,200 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 170, the most of any year. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+48%) and 16 to 29 least (+10%).
Only 18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Catterall, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Catterall, 41. 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.
5.5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 74% 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%.
On residents who moved in within the year, 11% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer people live alone than in 82% of UK towns: 26% of households
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.
The figure for households with dependent children is 31% in Catterall and 29% across England’s towns. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The average household has 2.4 people.
Above 77% of UK towns: 41% of households live in a detached house
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
With households in terraced houses at 14%, Catterall is behind 75% of UK towns on that count. To put it in context, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. 7.2% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Fewer residents born abroad than 85% of UK towns: 3.4%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%. Catterall has more residents whose main language is English than 89% of UK towns, at 99%.
Catterall ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 66%
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 Catterall · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.3%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Catterall sits higher than 89% of UK towns: 96%. For comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Catterall: 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 76% 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
47 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. For married adults and civil partners, the comparison across England’s towns is 44%. At 8%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 84% of UK towns. Set against 39% across England’s towns, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Catterall.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Catterall (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 12% (England’s towns: 18%).
Of 514 UK towns its size (2,500 to 4,000 people), the 70th youngest
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 Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Catterall in age: Silverstone (40.9), Penyffordd (40.9), Sutton Courtenay (41) and Horton Heath (41).
Every neighbour of Catterall has an older population
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Catterall’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. Catterall’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,748 people in 2021, against 2,800 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 Catterall’s residents
What is the population of Catterall?
The 2021 Census counted 2,800 people in Catterall’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,200 people in mid-2024, 25% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Catterall?
The median age was 41 at the 2021 Census, younger than 75% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Catterall?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Catterall?
27% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Catterall good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Catterall’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.