Photo: MTRB · Public domainHalf of Parbold is over 53.2, older than 94% of UK towns
Residents with no religion make up 24%, against 37% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 2,409 people lived in Parbold, in 1,040 households. Across Parbold, 44% of households live in a detached house. On households without a car or van, Parbold sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 8%.
What the Census says about Parbold’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Parbold’s residents are under 53.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
31% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 12%; Parbold has 8.4%. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
5.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 99% 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 7.9% across England’s towns, 5.1% of adults are full-time students in Parbold. Measured more widely, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Below 77% of UK towns: 24% of households have dependent children
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.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Parbold, 2.1%. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Here, 27% of households are one person living alone.
Below 93% of UK towns: 8.2% of households live in a terraced house
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: 3.2%, below 92% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house.
In Parbold, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 65% 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 outside the UK make up 5.2%, against 18% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%).
Parbold sits above 99% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (70%)
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 Parbold · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.5%).
24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 95% 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
56 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Higher than in 94% of UK towns: 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. For comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns: 9%.
A degree-level qualification for 48% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 48% of adults in Parbold, 34% across England’s towns; 11% have no qualification, against 18%.
The towns around Parbold are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parbold | 2,409 | — | 53.2 | 31% | 24% |
| Appley Bridge | 5,131 | 2.5 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 27% |
| Skelmersdale | 34,921 | 2.7 mi | 38.4 | 16% | 31% |
| Burscough | 8,773 | 2.9 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Rufford | 1,562 | 3.5 mi | 52.4 | 28% | 23% |
| Shevington | 5,315 | 3.6 mi | 48.9 | 28% | 25% |
| Shevington Moor | 2,717 | 3.6 mi | 43 | 21% | 27% |
| Eccleston | 4,543 | 4.3 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 27% |
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 Parbold’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 Parbold’s residents
What is the population of Parbold?
The 2021 Census counted 2,409 people in Parbold’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Parbold?
The median age was 53.2 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Parbold?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Parbold?
24% said they had no religion and 70% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Parbold good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Parbold’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.