Photo: Thomas Nugent · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 33.1: Preston is younger than 98% of UK towns
With households in detached houses at 9.4%, Preston is behind 95% of UK towns on that count. 94,502 residents in 37,727 households: that is Preston at the 2021 Census. Locally, just over a third of households have no car or van. Married adults and civil partners are rarer here than in 97% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Preston’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 11,829 full-time students aged 16 and over, 16% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 98% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 18% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Preston’s residents are under 33.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 18% are 15 to 24 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More born abroad than most towns
24% 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 (11%) and in EU countries (8.6%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
40% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 96% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Indian (14%), Other White (8.3%) and Pakistani (6.4%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
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 +8% since 2011 puts Preston ahead of 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Preston’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 95,100 people in 2011; 102,400 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 30 to 44 changed most (+14%) and 16 to 29 least (±0%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2023: 2,880 more people.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of UK towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across England’s towns, 18% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Preston. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Preston, 33.1. 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.
Above 98% of UK towns: 16% of adults are full-time students
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 Preston’s other adults differ from England’s: 25% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 95% of UK towns. Set beside that, 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.
More people live alone than in 84% of UK towns: 34% of households
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.
5.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The average household has 2.4 people. At 31%, the share of households with dependent children is higher than in 78% of UK towns.
A higher share of households in terraced houses than 94% of UK towns, at 39%
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
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Preston has 21%. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%.
24% born outside the UK, more than in 95% 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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up nearly a third of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. Residents whose main language is English: 84% of the total.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 96% of UK towns, at 60%
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: 60% of Preston · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 46% across England’s towns, just over two in five residents describe themselves as Christian in Preston. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. Residents with no religion: 28% of the total.
Preston ranks above 98% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 49%
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
2,380 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.5%, fewer than in 73% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Preston, 28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 22% have no qualification at all (18%). The highest qualification of 19% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 25 in St George's to 45 in Haslam Park
The town’s 12 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Haslam Park is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; St George's the youngest (median age 25). Students cluster in St George's, where 37% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Frenchwood & Fishwick (39% of households).
Among 79 UK towns of 66,000 to 128,000 people, the 3rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 29.8 in Salford to 48.4 in Paignton. Nearest to Preston in age: Salford (29.8), Oldham (31.6), Lincoln (33.7) and Guildford (34.7).
Every nearby town is older than Preston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston | 94,502 | — | 33.1 | 11% | 31% |
| Fulwood | 34,693 | 1.4 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 2.2 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Higher Walton | 1,607 | 2.9 mi | 39.8 | 16% | 29% |
| Cottam | 5,507 | 3 mi | 35.3 | 9.3% | 37% |
| Broughton | 2,468 | 3.2 mi | 42.8 | 22% | 36% |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 3.2 mi | 43.5 | 20% | 27% |
| Grimsargh | 2,594 | 3.5 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 35% |
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 Preston’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. Preston’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 96,299 people in 2021, against 94,502 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 Preston’s residents
What is the population of Preston?
The 2021 Census counted 94,502 people in Preston’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 102,400 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Preston?
The median age was 33.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 18% of residents were 15 to 24 and 11% were 65 or over.
Is Preston a student town?
Yes: 16% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (11,829 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In St George's, 37% of adults were students.
How diverse is Preston?
60% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 24% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Preston?
28% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 20% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Preston good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Frenchwood & Fishwick (39% of households). Schools are on Preston’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.