Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 35.3: Cottam is younger than 96% of UK towns
The figure for residents with no religion is 32% in Cottam and 37% across England’s towns. Fewer one-person households than in 97% of UK towns: 20%. This Lancashire town is home to 5,507 residents in 2,221 households, by the 2021 Census. The share of households in flats stands at 3.6%.
What the Census says about Cottam’s people
A town of families
37% of Cottam’s 2,221 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Cottam’s residents are under 35.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 9.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over: 9.3%, a lower share than 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 68% of UK towns: 10%. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cottam, 35.3. 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.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 94% 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 Cottam, half of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 14% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%. Across Cottam, 5.9% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Above 96% of UK towns: 37% of households have dependent children
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 average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in three quarters of UK towns. On average, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Fewer households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns: 4.7%
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 9.3% of households live in a terraced house here. Across Cottam, 61% of households live in a detached house.
Cottam ranks below 57% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 97%
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
Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 20%. 6.6% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 53% of UK towns. Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (2.6%) and in EU countries (2.2%).
59% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 92% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 88% of Cottam · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Indian (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and Other White (2.3%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than in 70% of UK towns: 88%. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns.
50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 65% 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
On unpaid carers, 7.9% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Few places have as many adults who have never married: 38% here, more than in 82% of UK towns. As a reference point, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 47% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
47% of Cottam’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 7% have none (18%).
Among 516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people, the 23rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Cottam in age: Cawston (34.9), Coningsby and Tattershall (35.1), Long Lawford (35.3) and Shinfield (35.3).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Cottam
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottam | 5,507 | — | 35.3 | 9.3% | 37% |
| Fulwood | 34,693 | 1.8 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Clifton | 1,022 | 2.5 mi | 44.9 | 19% | 23% |
| Broughton | 2,468 | 2.6 mi | 42.8 | 22% | 36% |
| Preston | 94,502 | 3 mi | 33.1 | 11% | 31% |
| Barton | 1,492 | 3.2 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 33% |
| Newton-with-Scales | 1,510 | 3.4 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 26% |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 3.4 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 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 Cottam’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Cottam’s residents
What is the population of Cottam?
The 2021 Census counted 5,507 people in Cottam’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cottam?
The median age was 35.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 9.3% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cottam?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 6.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cottam?
32% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.4% were Muslim and 4.1% didn’t answer.
Is Cottam good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cottam’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). 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.