Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0In Clitheroe, 36% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 91% of UK towns
In Clitheroe the average household is 2.2 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. Higher than in 77% of UK towns: 33% of households are one person living alone. Census day 2021: 16,626 residents and 7,448 households here. Across Clitheroe, three in five residents describe themselves as Christian.
What the Census says about Clitheroe’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Clitheroe at 14,800 in 2011 and 18,800 in 2024, up 27%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 92% 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 growing town: +27% since 2011, faster than 92% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Clitheroe’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 14,800 people in 2011; 18,800 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2022 to mid-2023: 540. Change by age ran from +42% for the 65 and over to +16% for the 16 to 29.
A median age of 44: Clitheroe is younger than 54% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 7.4% of residents. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 9.7% here, fewer than in 53% 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+
■ Clitheroe, 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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% in Clitheroe, more than in 82% 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%.
36% of Clitheroe’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Lower than in 56% of UK towns: 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 67% of UK towns: 2%
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.
Households with dependent children make up 26%, against 29% across England’s towns. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Fewer detached houses than 76% of UK towns: 19% of households
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
18% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households in detached houses is 21% across England’s towns. Households in flats account for 12%.
In Clitheroe, 5.6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 58% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 57% of UK towns: 97%. 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
Only 33% of residents said they have no religion in Clitheroe
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: 93% of Clitheroe · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (3.1%), Pakistani (1.5%) and Mixed or multiple (1.2%). Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 93% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 54% of UK towns.
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer 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
A third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. For married adults and civil partners, the comparison across England’s towns is 44%. Census figures put unpaid carers at 8.6% in Clitheroe.
37% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 37% of its adults qualified to degree level, Clitheroe compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 15% hold no qualification (18%).
161st youngest of 322 UK towns of 12,000 to 22,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Clitheroe in age: Hale (43.9), Frimley (43.9), Hadfield (44) and Balderton (44).
Clitheroe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clitheroe | 16,626 | — | 44 | 22% | 26% |
| Waddington | 1,005 | 1.4 mi | 58.6 | 38% | 17% |
| Barrow | 1,388 | 2.2 mi | 43.3 | 19% | 30% |
| Chatburn | 1,125 | 2.3 mi | 49.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Whalley | 3,411 | 3.3 mi | 49.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Sabden | 1,582 | 3.5 mi | 48.1 | 22% | 24% |
| Billington | 1,743 | 4 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Old Langho | 1,072 | 4.1 mi | 42.6 | 11% | 43% |
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 Clitheroe’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. Clitheroe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 17,136 people in 2021, against 16,626 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 Clitheroe’s residents
What is the population of Clitheroe?
The 2021 Census counted 16,626 people in Clitheroe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 18,800 people in mid-2024, 27% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Clitheroe?
The median age was 44 at the 2021 Census, younger than 54% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Clitheroe?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Clitheroe?
33% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.8% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Clitheroe good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Clitheroe’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.