Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Colne ranks above 99% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 60%
One-person households: 35% here and 30% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 18,914 people lived in Colne, in 8,503 households. Across Colne, 39% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Households in detached houses are rarer here than in 96% of UK towns.
A change of +4% since 2011 leaves Colne behind 69% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Colne’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 19,500 people in 2011; 20,200 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 330 people. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+30%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−16%).
Half of Colne is under 42, younger than 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 7.3% of residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are common here: 10%, more than in 70% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Colne has 20%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Colne, 42. 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.
Colne: 5.2% of adults are full-time students, above 65% 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%.
In Colne, a quarter of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 33% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. On the census count, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 75% 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.
Here, 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 51% of UK towns.
Colne ranks above 89% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 26%
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, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; in Colne, 11%. One household in every 4 has no car or van.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 62% of UK towns: 5.2%
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 (2.8%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). On residents whose main language is English, Colne sits lower than 59% of UK towns: 97%. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 15% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion make up 45% in Colne, more than in 73% 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: 92% of Colne · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian are about as common here as across England’s towns: 46%. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.8%), Pakistani (2.4%) and Mixed or multiple (1.4%). 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 50% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion.
Adults who have never married make up 40% in Colne, more than in 89% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 516 people. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. There is little gap on unpaid carers: 9.4%, about the same as across England’s towns.
25% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Colne, 25%, and 22% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 40 in Colne Waterside to 47 in East Colne, Foulridge & Trawden
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
East Colne, Foulridge & Trawden is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Colne Waterside the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Colne North (27% of households).
Of 336 UK towns its size (13,000 to 26,000 people), the 98th 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 Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Colne in age: Bishop's Cleeve (41.9), Stanley (42), Coseley (42) and Flitwick (42).
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Colne
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colne | 18,914 | — | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Foulridge | 1,212 | 1.2 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 23% |
| Trawden | 1,204 | 1.6 mi | 49.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Barrowford | 5,887 | 2.2 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 25% |
| Nelson | 33,808 | 2.2 mi | 33.4 | 12% | 40% |
| Brierfield | 10,723 | 3.5 mi | 35.8 | 16% | 37% |
| Fence | 1,585 | 4 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 27% |
| Earby | 4,416 | 4 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 26% |
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 Colne’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. Colne’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 19,538 people in 2021, against 18,914 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 Colne’s residents
What is the population of Colne?
The 2021 Census counted 18,914 people in Colne’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 20,200 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Colne?
The median age was 42 at the 2021 Census, younger than 69% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Colne?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Colne?
45% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.9% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Colne good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Colne North (27% of households). Schools are on Colne’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.