Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.3%, a lower share than 97% of UK towns
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 41% of households live in a terraced house here. Foulridge counted 1,212 residents and 551 households at the 2021 Census. Across Foulridge, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. With a median age of 49.5, Foulridge is older than 83% of UK towns.
Foulridge ranks below 86% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 67% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 95% of UK towns: 3.5%
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%.
There is little gap on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, about the same as across England’s towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 74% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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 share of one-person households is 28%, against 30% across England’s towns.
In Foulridge, 3.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 89% of UK towns
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
Here just over a quarter of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. On average, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. The share of households without a car or van stands at 11%.
Foulridge sits below 86% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (3.4%)
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Higher than in 90% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 88% of UK towns: 57%
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: 96% of Foulridge · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (1.9%), Chinese (0.7%) and Mixed or multiple (0.7%). Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. At 96%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in 85% of UK towns. Residents with no religion make up 37%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 82% 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
With adults who have never married at 29%, Foulridge is behind just over three quarters of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 38 people.
34% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 34% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 15% hold no qualification (18%).
A younger town than 1 of the 7 around it: Foulridge
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foulridge | 1,212 | — | 49.5 | 24% | 23% |
| Colne | 18,914 | 1.2 mi | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Trawden | 1,204 | 2.6 mi | 49.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Barrowford | 5,887 | 2.7 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 25% |
| Earby | 4,416 | 2.9 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Barnoldswick | 10,915 | 3 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 27% |
| Nelson | 33,808 | 3.1 mi | 33.4 | 12% | 40% |
| Brierfield | 10,723 | 4.4 mi | 35.8 | 16% | 37% |
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 Foulridge’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 Foulridge’s residents
What is the population of Foulridge?
The 2021 Census counted 1,212 people in Foulridge’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Foulridge?
The median age was 49.5 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Foulridge?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Foulridge?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Foulridge good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Foulridge’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.