Photo: Galatas · CC BY-SA 2.035% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 90% of UK towns
The median age in Higher Walton is 39.8, lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns. The village counted 1,607 residents and 716 households at the 2021 Census. For Higher Walton, the census puts residents who describe themselves as Christian at 56%. 40% of adults are married or in a civil partnership (England’s towns: 44%).
Only 16% of residents are 65 or over in Higher Walton
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 25–29, with 8.3% of residents. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 73% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 5% in Higher Walton, more than in 60% of UK towns
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%.
Set against 11% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier in Higher Walton. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 66% 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.
By its share of one-person households (32%), Higher Walton is above just over two thirds of UK towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 29%.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 83% of UK towns: 16%
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
Where 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Higher Walton has 13%. Elsewhere, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. One household in every 8 has no car or van.
In Higher Walton, 4.2% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 74% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). At 98%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 61% of UK towns. Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison.
35% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 81% 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: 94% of Higher Walton · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 1.4%. Higher Walton has more residents who describe themselves as White British than 64% of UK towns, at 94%. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Higher Walton ranks above 90% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 40%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 26 residents. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 8.5% here, fewer than in 72% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%.
A degree-level qualification for 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Higher Walton counts 29% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 15% have no qualification (18%).
Older than Higher Walton: 6 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher Walton | 1,607 | — | 39.8 | 16% | 29% |
| Coup Green | 1,208 | 1 mi | 57.6 | 37% | 17% |
| Gregson Lane | 2,073 | 1.1 mi | 52.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 1.4 mi | 43.5 | 20% | 27% |
| Preston | 94,502 | 2.9 mi | 33.1 | 11% | 31% |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 3.4 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Farington Moss | 2,692 | 3.4 mi | 42.2 | 17% | 32% |
| Whittle-le-Woods | 4,388 | 3.9 mi | 45.1 | 17% | 31% |
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 Higher Walton’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 Higher Walton’s residents
What is the population of Higher Walton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,607 people in Higher Walton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Higher Walton?
The median age was 39.8 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Higher Walton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Higher Walton?
35% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Higher Walton good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Higher Walton’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.