Yarrow Cottage · Photo: Peter James · CC BY-SA 4.0Only 27% of residents said they have no religion in Croston
Against a figure of 39% across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married in Croston comes in at 26%. 9.1% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 87% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 2,793 residents in 1,187 households. On the census count, just over a third of households live in a terraced house.
Half of Croston is over 47.4, older than 71% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 18% across England’s towns. The largest age band is 50–54: 8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Croston, 47.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Croston ranks below 55% of UK towns on full-time students: 4.7%
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 Croston, 41% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 9.1%.
In Croston, 28% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Croston, 2.3. 29% of households have dependent children. The share of one-person households across England’s towns is 30%.
Croston ranks below 87% of UK towns on households in flats: 4.2%
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
The figure for households in detached houses is 27% in Croston and 21% across England’s towns. On average, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Only 3.2% of residents were born outside the UK in Croston
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). On residents whose main language is English, Croston sits higher than 90% of UK towns: 99%. Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison.
68% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 99% 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: 95% of Croston · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (0.3%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 95%, more than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 82% of UK towns don’t reach
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
At 7.7%, unpaid carers sit close to the figure across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 50.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 41% of adults in Croston (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 14% (England’s towns: 18%).
514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people: this is the 239th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Croston in age: Mortimer (47.3), Menai Bridge (47.3), Denby Dale (47.4) and Chalgrove (47.4).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Croston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croston | 2,793 | — | 47.4 | 24% | 29% |
| Wymott | 2,092 | 1.4 mi | 39.2 | 8.4% | 30% |
| Eccleston | 4,543 | 2.6 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 27% |
| Rufford | 1,562 | 3 mi | 52.4 | 28% | 23% |
| Tarleton and Hesketh Bank | 8,756 | 3.2 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 26% |
| Leyland | 39,281 | 3.7 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 27% |
| Longton | 10,912 | 4.1 mi | 50.9 | 28% | 25% |
| Farington Moss | 2,692 | 4.1 mi | 42.2 | 17% | 32% |
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 Croston’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 Croston’s residents
What is the population of Croston?
The 2021 Census counted 2,793 people in Croston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Croston?
The median age was 47.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 71% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Croston?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Croston?
27% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Croston good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Croston’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.