Photo: Carroll Pierce · CC BY-SA 2.039% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 94% of UK towns
Asked about religion, 34% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.9% of the total. The median age in Haslingden is 42.7, lower than in 64% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 16,005 residents in the town, living in 6,700 households.
Haslingden changed by +5% from 2011 to 2024, behind 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Haslingden’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,000 people in 2011; 16,800 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+34%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−3%). Between mid-2023 and mid-2024 the population rose by 270, its biggest one-year gain.
20% of residents are 65 or over, below 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Haslingden, 42.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 84% of UK towns, at 7.1%
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%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 5.9% in Haslingden. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Haslingden households average 2.4 people, larger than in 67% 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.
The share of households with dependent children tops nearly three quarters of UK towns: 30%. The census found that 31% of households are one person living alone in Haslingden.
Haslingden ranks above 64% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 18%
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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Locally, 13% of households live in a flat or apartment.
96% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 73% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (5.1%) and in EU countries (1.8%). Haslingden has more residents born outside the UK than 63% of UK towns, at 7.8%. The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 13% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
83% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 82% 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: 83% of Haslingden · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as Christian at 48%, Haslingden is behind 64% of UK towns on that count. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Pakistani (6%), Bangladeshi (5.6%) and Other White (2.1%).
Adults who have never married: 34%, a higher share than 62% 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
47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. Here, 9.6% of residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%.
31% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Haslingden’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
From a median age of 39 in Haslingden to 48 in Townsend Fold & Edenfield
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Townsend Fold & Edenfield is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Haslingden the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Haslingden (32% of households).
380 UK towns of 11,000 to 22,000 people: this is the 135th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Haslingden in age: Byfleet (42.6), Great Harwood (42.7), Elland (42.7) and Birstall (42.7).
A younger town than 5 of the 7 around it: Haslingden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haslingden | 16,005 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Rawtenstall | 23,683 | 2 mi | 42.7 | 19% | 29% |
| Edenfield | 2,048 | 2.2 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 28% |
| Accrington | 34,897 | 4 mi | 36.2 | 15% | 33% |
| Oswaldtwistle | 10,810 | 4.3 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 26% |
| Ramsbottom | 17,074 | 4.3 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 28% |
| Hoddlesden | 1,218 | 4.3 mi | 50.1 | 28% | 23% |
| Edgworth | 1,649 | 4.6 mi | 52.9 | 27% | 24% |
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 Haslingden’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Haslingden’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,324 people in 2021, against 16,005 in the built-up area.
- 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 Haslingden’s residents
What is the population of Haslingden?
The 2021 Census counted 16,005 people in Haslingden’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 16,800 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Haslingden?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Haslingden?
83% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 7.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Haslingden?
34% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 12% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Haslingden good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Haslingden (32% of households). Schools are on Haslingden’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.