Photo: Small-town hero · Public domainIn Ormskirk, 27% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 99% of UK towns
60% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Ormskirk’s 10,339 households held 27,720 residents at the 2021 Census. For Ormskirk, the census puts households with dependent children at 23%. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in 91% of UK towns: 40%.
What the Census says about Ormskirk’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 6,324 full-time students aged 16 and over, 26% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 27% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A town people move to
19% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns, and 4.2% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Ormskirk’s residents are under 38.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% are 15 to 24 and 22% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Ormskirk at 26,000 in 2011 and 30,500 in 2024, up 17%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 81% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Growth of +17% since 2011 puts Ormskirk ahead of 81% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ormskirk’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 26,000 people in 2011; 30,500 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2021 to mid-2022, 810 people. Change by age ran from +45% for the 16 to 29 to −1% for the 45 to 64.
Younger than 87% of UK towns: half of Ormskirk is under 38.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
15–19 is the most common age band: 14% of residents, 2.5 times the share across England’s towns. Here, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ormskirk, 38.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student town: 26% 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%.
Leave the students aside and Ormskirk’s other adults differ from England’s: 44% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. Here, 19% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Typically, 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.
5.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 97% 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 average household has 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Across Ormskirk, 30% of households are one person living alone.
In Ormskirk, 12% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 84% 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
Across England’s towns, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment; in Ormskirk, 13%. 18% of households have no car or van, a higher share than in 62% of UK towns. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%. Households in detached houses: 30% of the total.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 73% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). The comparison figure for residents whose main language is English is 90% across England’s towns. Fewer residents born outside the UK than in two thirds of UK towns: 4.8%. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 18% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
32% of residents said they have no religion, below 90% 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 Ormskirk · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 93%, against 73% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.5%).
Ormskirk: 45% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 96% 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 658 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Ormskirk has fewer unpaid carers than just over two thirds of UK towns, at 8.7%.
Qualified to degree level: 32% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Ormskirk, 12%, while 32% hold one at degree level (34%). The highest qualification of 32% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 19 in Bickerstaffe & Newburgh to 52 in Aughton
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.
Aughton is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; Bickerstaffe & Newburgh the youngest (median age 19). Students cluster in Bickerstaffe & Newburgh, where 75% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Ormskirk North & West (26% of households).
Among 256 UK towns of 19,000 to 37,000 people, the 30th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Egham is the youngest (31.1); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Ormskirk in age: Falmouth (38.6), Heywood (38.7), Radcliffe (38.9) and Daventry (38.9).
Ormskirk is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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
- 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 Ormskirk’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. Ormskirk’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 29,609 people in 2021, against 27,720 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 Ormskirk’s residents
What is the population of Ormskirk?
The 2021 Census counted 27,720 people in Ormskirk’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 30,500 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ormskirk?
The median age was 38.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 27% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
Is Ormskirk a student town?
Yes: 26% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (6,324 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Bickerstaffe & Newburgh, 75% of adults were students.
How diverse is Ormskirk?
93% 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 Ormskirk?
32% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Ormskirk good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Ormskirk North & West (26% of households). Schools are on Ormskirk’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.