Photo: Dr Greg · CC BY-SA 3.0

58.2Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Half of Garstang is over 58.2, older than 99% of UK towns

29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 16% in Garstang. Across Garstang, just over a quarter of residents said they have no religion. Few places have so few households in terraced houses: 11% here, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 5,804 residents in 2,884 households.

39%aged 65 or over 3.6%born abroad 2,884households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Garstang’s people

58.2median age, older than 99% of UK towns, the oldest of Lancashire’s 66 towns of 2,500+

Older than most towns

Half of Garstang’s residents are under 58.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 39% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

In Garstang, 39% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns

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

GarstangEngland’s towns

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

The largest age band is 70–74: one in ten residents, 2.1 times the share across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The census found that 6.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Garstang.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Garstang, 58.2. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1512%

15 to 246.5%

25 to 4416%

45 to 6426%

65 and over39%

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Garstang

England

WomenMen

About 92 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.

Students & newcomers

A smaller share of full-time students than 97% of UK towns: 3.3%

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 students3.3%

Higher managerial and professional13%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed13%

Supervisory and technical6.1%

Semi-routine12%

Routine12%

Never worked or long-term unemployed7.6%

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Garstang

8.5%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

483

residents, 8.4%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.5× England’s share

Compared with 11% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 97% of UK towns: 1.3%

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

Living alone, 66+ 23%Living alone, under 66 12%Families with dependent children 16%Couples and families, no young children 47%Shared houses and other 1.3%

Against Lancashire’s towns and England’s towns

Garstang

Lancashire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person36%

2 people43%

3 people11%

4 people7.2%

5 or more3.4%

England’s towns.

In Garstang, 36% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. On average, 2 people share a household.

Homes & cars

Households in detached houses: 34%, a higher share than 65% of UK towns

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

Type of home

Garstang

Lancashire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van16%

One48%

Two28%

Three or more8.3%

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

In Garstang, 16% of households have no car or van. 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 10% here.

Where people were born

In Garstang, 3.6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 84% of UK towns

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%

Garstang

3.6%

Lancashire’s towns

10%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

GarstangEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.8%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Garstang comes in at 99%. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).

Ethnicity & religion

Above 99% of UK towns: 68% of residents describe themselves as Christian

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

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.7%

Asian1.2%

Mixed0.7%

Black0.2%

Other0.2%

0%7%14%

White British, not charted: 96% of Garstang · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion26%

Christian68%

Muslim0.4%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.4%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer4.6%

0%40%80%

Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Chinese (0.3%). 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 88% of UK towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.

Relationships & caring

Adults who have never married: 23%, a lower share than 98% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership23%

Married or civil partnership54%

Separated1.9%

Divorced9.1%

Widowed12%

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

594residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 11%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.4%

20 to 49 hours1.5%

50 hours or more3.8%

Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; in Garstang, 54%. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns. Here, 11% of residents give unpaid care.

Qualifications

31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications21%

Apprenticeship7.8%

A levels or similar15%

Degree level31%

GarstangLancashire’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Garstang, 31%, and 21% have none, against 18%.

Towns its size

Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 624 UK towns this size

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Garstang 58.2

BailriggBarton on SeaBrayton

174267

Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Garstang in age: Littlestone-on-Sea (57.9), Jaywick (58), Mablethorpe (58.3) and Dersingham (58.6).

Neighbours

Every neighbour of Garstang has a younger population

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

BondsCatterallGreat EcclestonPillingBartonGalgateElswickGarstang

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Garstang	5,804	—	58.2	39%	16%
Bonds	1,237	0.9 mi	52.7	28%	24%
Catterall	2,800	2.1 mi	41	18%	31%
Great Eccleston	2,073	5.2 mi	52.3	29%	23%
Pilling	1,699	5.4 mi	49.7	27%	27%
Barton	1,492	5.5 mi	43.6	20%	33%
Galgate	2,085	6 mi	40	18%	30%
Elswick	1,047	6.3 mi	51.3	27%	25%

More about Garstang’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health B⁻Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute B⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living DOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools A⁻Every 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 Garstang’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 Garstang’s residents

What is the population of Garstang?

The 2021 Census counted 5,804 people in Garstang’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Garstang?

The median age was 58.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 99% of UK towns. 6.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Garstang?

96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Garstang?

26% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.

Is Garstang good for families?

16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Garstang’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.