Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.059% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 92% of UK towns
In Leyland, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Leyland was home to 39,281 people in 17,212 households. Just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. With a median age of 42.7, Leyland is younger than 64% of UK towns.
From 2011 to 2024, Leyland outgrew 56% of UK towns: +9%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Leyland’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 37,400 people in 2011; 40,700 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+35%) and the 16 to 29 least (−5%). The steepest year was mid-2023 to mid-2024, up 980 people.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 10% in Leyland, more than in 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.2% of residents. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, Leyland sits lower than 60% of UK towns: 20%. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Leyland, 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 60% of UK towns, at 8.2%
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%.
33% of Leyland’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. The share of full-time students stands at 4.9%.
Leyland households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 57% 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.
One-person households account for 30%. 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 27% in Leyland.
17% of households have no car or van, more 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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 22% in Leyland. In one household in 6 there is no car or van.
Leyland ranks below 67% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 4.8%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 14% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Below 83% of UK towns: 35% of residents said they have no religion
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 Leyland · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as White British (94%), Leyland is above 63% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.5%).
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 64% 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
Some 1,063 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with 8.7% across England’s towns, 9.7% of residents give unpaid care here.
Degree-level qualifications reach 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Leyland, 30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 38 in Farington to 51 in Leyland South East & Buckshaw Village
The town’s 7 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Leyland South East & Buckshaw Village is the oldest area, with 29% aged 65 or over; Farington the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Clayton-le-Woods (32% of households).
Of 193 UK towns its size (27,000 to 53,000 people), the 69th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Hatfield (30.3) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Leyland in age: Ashington (42.7), Consett (42.7), Camberley (42.7) and Chippenham (42.8).
Around Leyland, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leyland | 39,281 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 27% |
| Farington Moss | 2,692 | 1.1 mi | 42.2 | 17% | 32% |
| Euxton | 17,519 | 1.9 mi | 37.9 | 15% | 35% |
| Wymott | 2,092 | 2.3 mi | 39.2 | 8.4% | 30% |
| Whittle-le-Woods | 4,388 | 2.6 mi | 45.1 | 17% | 31% |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 2.7 mi | 43.5 | 20% | 27% |
| Eccleston | 4,543 | 3.5 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 27% |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 3.5 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 27% |
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 Leyland’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. Leyland’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 38,368 people in 2021, against 39,281 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 Leyland’s residents
What is the population of Leyland?
The 2021 Census counted 39,281 people in Leyland’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 40,700 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Leyland?
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 Leyland?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Leyland?
35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Leyland good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Clayton-le-Woods (32% of households). Schools are on Leyland’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.