Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0In Kirkham, 60% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 94% of UK towns
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. Across Kirkham, 19% of households have no car or van. Just over a quarter of households have dependent children, a lower share than in 63% of UK towns. The town’s 3,754 households held 8,939 residents at the 2021 Census.
+10% since 2011, a pace 59% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Kirkham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,100 people in 2011; 9,900 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2018 to mid-2019: 260 people. The 65 and over age group changed most (+36%) and the 16 to 29 least (−7%).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 10% in Kirkham, more than in 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 21% in Kirkham and 18% across England’s towns. The median age here is 44.4, lower than in just over half of UK towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Kirkham, 44.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student town: 5.2% of adults study full-time
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Kirkham has 31% and 26%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.5% in the town.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 69% 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 shared households of unrelated adults tops 64% of UK towns: 2.6%. For Kirkham, the census puts one-person households at 31%.
In Kirkham, 26% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 57% 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
The share of households in terraced houses is 25%, against 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Households in flats: a tenth of the total.
A lower share of residents whose main language is English than 74% of UK towns, at 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
7.2% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (4.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns.
32% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 89% 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: 91% of Kirkham · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Pakistani (0.6%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than in 57% of UK towns: 91%. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion.
Kirkham sits below 79% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (43%)
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
Unpaid carers account for 9.3%. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
29% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Kirkham, 29% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
226th lowest median age among 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Kirkham in age: Coxheath (44.3), Cleator Moor (44.4), Milnrow (44.4) and Wallingford (44.4).
Around Kirkham, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkham | 8,939 | — | 44.4 | 21% | 26% |
| Wesham | 4,474 | 0.8 mi | 40 | 15% | 32% |
| Wrea Green | 1,899 | 1.4 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 26% |
| Newton-with-Scales | 1,510 | 1.7 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 26% |
| Warton (Fylde) | 4,180 | 2 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 29% |
| Freckleton | 4,478 | 2.1 mi | 54.6 | 32% | 20% |
| Clifton | 1,022 | 2.8 mi | 44.9 | 19% | 23% |
| Elswick | 1,047 | 3.9 mi | 51.3 | 27% | 25% |
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 Kirkham’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. Kirkham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,615 people in 2021, against 8,939 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 Kirkham’s residents
What is the population of Kirkham?
The 2021 Census counted 8,939 people in Kirkham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,900 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Kirkham?
The median age was 44.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 51% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Kirkham?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 7.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Kirkham?
32% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.3% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.
Is Kirkham good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Kirkham’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. 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.