Photo: Robert Wade · CC BY-SA 2.0Nelson is younger than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 33.4
The share of residents with no religion trails 99% of UK towns: 17%. Fewer households in detached houses than in 96% of UK towns: 8.2%. At the 2021 Census, 33,808 people lived in Nelson, in 11,578 households. In Nelson, 33% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Nelson’s people
More born abroad than anywhere else in Lancashire
34% of residents were born outside the UK, against 10% across Lancashire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (22%) and in EU countries (12%). Where people were born ↓
A town of families
40% of Nelson’s 11,578 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 98% of UK towns and the highest share in Lancashire. 25% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
65% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Pakistani (51%), Other White (8%) and Mixed or multiple (2.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Nelson’s residents are under 33.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 14% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Faster growth than 89% of UK towns: Nelson changed by +23% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Nelson’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 29,200 people in 2011; 36,000 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 1,070 more people. By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+30%) and the 65 and over group least (+14%).
12% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 10–14: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 96% of UK towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Nelson, 33.4. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
More full-time students than 96% of UK towns: 9.9%
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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A larger share of households with dependent children than 98% of UK towns: 40%
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.
Nelson sits close to the norm on shared households of unrelated adults: 3.6%, about the same as across England’s towns. Households here average 2.9 people each. 30% of households are one person living alone, more than in 56% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
59% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 99% 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
Households in flats: 9.1%, below 59% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
More residents born abroad than 98% of UK towns: 34% in Nelson
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 40%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Nearly three quarters of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (22%) and in EU countries (12%).
A lower White British share than 99% of UK towns: 35% of residents
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: 35% of Nelson · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 26% in Nelson. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. The Muslim share of residents is 52%.
A larger share of adults who have never married than 65% of UK towns: 35%
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
For 908 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. At 8.4%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in three quarters of UK towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. The share of married adults and civil partners tops 52% of UK towns: 48%.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 19%
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 Nelson, 19%, and 33% have none, against 18%. A levels top the qualifications of 14%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 31 in Nelson West to 38 in Marsden
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Marsden is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Nelson West the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Nelson West (48% of households).
3rd youngest of 201 UK towns of 24,000 to 46,000 people
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 Nelson in age: Hatfield (30.3), Egham (31.1), Little Hulton (34.7) and Bilston (35.3).
Every neighbour of Nelson has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 33,808 | — | 33.4 | 12% | 40% |
| Barrowford | 5,887 | 1 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 25% |
| Brierfield | 10,723 | 1.3 mi | 35.8 | 16% | 37% |
| Fence | 1,585 | 2 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 27% |
| Colne | 18,914 | 2.2 mi | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Trawden | 1,204 | 3 mi | 49.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Foulridge | 1,212 | 3.1 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 23% |
| Burnley | 78,266 | 3.2 mi | 38.7 | 17% | 30% |
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 Nelson’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. Nelson’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 33,491 people in 2021, against 33,808 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 Nelson’s residents
What is the population of Nelson?
The 2021 Census counted 33,808 people in Nelson’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 36,000 people in mid-2024, 23% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Nelson?
The median age was 33.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 97% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Nelson?
35% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 34% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Nelson?
17% said they had no religion and 26% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 52% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Nelson good for families?
40% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Nelson West (48% of households). Schools are on Nelson’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.