Photo: Rwendland · Public domainIn Heysham, 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 83% of UK towns
A fifth of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Heysham has more households in flats than three quarters of UK towns, at 16%. At the 2021 Census, 16,593 people lived in the town, in 7,220 households. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.9% here.
+3% since 2011, a pace below 73% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Heysham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 14,500 people in 2011; 14,800 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+11%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−6%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2013: 210 more people.
Half of Heysham is under 43.8, younger than 55% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
For Heysham, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 21%. Lower than in 50% of UK towns: 9.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Heysham, 43.8. 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.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 80% of UK towns, at 7.3%
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
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
With full-time students at 4.7%, Heysham is behind 54% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
In Heysham, 32% of households are one person living alone, more than in 68% 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.
Households in Heysham hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). For Heysham, the census puts households with dependent children at 27%. Across the comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Heysham ranks below 71% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 15%
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 share of households in detached houses is 19%, against 21% across England’s towns. For households in terraced houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%.
Heysham sits below 68% of UK towns for 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, against 5.9% in Heysham. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%).
93% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 59% 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: 93% of Heysham · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (4.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.2%). At 37%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in 71% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Heysham ranks above 77% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 10%
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
553 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. More adults who have never married than in 58% of UK towns: 34%. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Heysham has 45%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Heysham, 25%, and 19% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 42 in Morecambe South West to 43 in Heysham & Overton
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.
Heysham & Overton is the oldest area, with 21% aged 65 or over; Morecambe South West the youngest (median age 42). Families with children are most common in Morecambe South West (31% of households).
Among 322 UK towns of 12,000 to 22,000 people, the 152nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Heysham in age: Gomersal and Birkenshaw (43.7), Swinton (43.7), South Normanton and Pinxton (43.8) and Saffron Walden (43.8).
Older than Heysham: 4 of the 7 towns nearby
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Heysham’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. Heysham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 15,066 people in 2021, against 16,593 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 Heysham’s residents
What is the population of Heysham?
The 2021 Census counted 16,593 people in Heysham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 14,800 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Heysham?
The median age was 43.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 55% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Heysham?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 5.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Heysham?
37% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Heysham good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Morecambe South West (31% of households). Schools are on Heysham’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.