The New Holly Inn, Preston Lancaster Road, Forton

Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0

50.5Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Only 0.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Forton

The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 30% in Forton and 18% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. The village had 440 residents in 162 households at the 2021 Census. Across Forton, 8% of households have no car or van.

30%aged 65 or over 6.1%born abroad 162households

Ages

A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 6.8%

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

FortonEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Half of Forton’s residents are over 50.5, older than in 87% of UK towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 246.8%

25 to 4423%

45 to 6425%

65 and over30%

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Forton

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Forton sits below 99% of UK towns for full-time students (1.6%)

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

Full-time students1.6%

Higher managerial and professional14%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate9%

Small employers and self-employed11%

Supervisory and technical9%

Semi-routine7.6%

Routine9.8%

Never worked or long-term unemployed16%

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Forton

23%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 23%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

1× England’s share

Nearly a quarter of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.

Households

Bigger households than 52% of UK towns: 2.3 people each on average

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 9.9%Living alone, under 66 15%Families with dependent children 27%Couples and families, no young children 47%Shared houses and other 0.6%

Against Lancashire’s towns and England’s towns

Forton

Lancashire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person25%

2 people43%

3 people17%

4 people9.3%

5 or more5.6%

England’s towns.

The census found that 27% of households have dependent children in Forton.

Homes & cars

Only 3.1% of households live in a flat or apartment in Forton

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Forton

Lancashire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8%

One36%

Two43%

Three or more14%

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Nearly two in five households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are common here: 37%, more than in 92% of UK towns. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Forton ranks below 68% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 96%

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%

Forton

6.1%

Lancashire’s towns

10%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language96%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well2.4%

Another main language, little or no English1.2%

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 6.1% of residents were born outside the UK, against 10% across Lancashire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 80% 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

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5%

Asian0.9%

Mixed0.9%

Black0%

Other0%

0%7%14%

White British, not charted: 93% of Forton · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion37%

Christian55%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.1%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer7.1%

0%35%70%

Residents with no religion are about as common here as across England’s towns: 37%. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (5%), Indian (0.9%) and Mixed or multiple (0.9%).

Relationships & caring

Forton sits below 80% of UK towns for adults who have never married (28%)

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership28%

Married or civil partnership51%

Separated1.6%

Divorced9.5%

Widowed9.5%

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

42residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 10%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.5%

20 to 49 hours1.9%

50 hours or more1.7%

Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 7 people. Just over half of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 71% of UK towns. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%. Compared with 8.7% across England’s towns, 10% of residents give unpaid care here.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications: held by 29% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications27%

Apprenticeship4.6%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level29%

FortonLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications cover 29% of adults in Forton, 34% across England’s towns; 27% have no qualification, against 18%.

Neighbours

Median age: 3 of the 7 towns around Forton are older

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

GalgateGarstangBailriggBondsCatterallOvertonPillingForton

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Forton	440	—	50.5	30%	27%
Galgate	2,085	2.9 mi	40	18%	30%
Garstang	5,804	3.2 mi	58.2	39%	16%
Bailrigg	4,788	4 mi	18.9	1.6%	25%
Bonds	1,237	4 mi	52.7	28%	24%
Catterall	2,800	5.2 mi	41	18%	31%
Overton	1,016	5.5 mi	52.4	27%	21%
Pilling	1,699	5.8 mi	49.7	27%	27%

More about Forton’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Forton’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 Forton’s residents

What is the population of Forton?

The 2021 Census counted 440 people in Forton’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Forton?

The median age was 50.5 at the 2021 Census. 6.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Forton?

93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Forton?

37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.

Is Forton good for families?

27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Forton’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.