Photo: Andy4789 · CC BY 3.0A higher share of households in terraced houses than 95% of UK towns, at 42%
Half of Rawtenstall’s residents are under 42.7, younger than in 64% of UK towns. This Lancashire town had 23,683 residents in 10,241 households at the 2021 Census. Here, nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British. Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van; in the town, 18%.
A +8% change since 2011: faster than 53% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Rawtenstall’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 22,900 people in 2011; 24,800 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+34%) and the 16 to 29 least (−2%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 440 people.
Only 19% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 12% across England’s towns, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 here. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.7% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Rawtenstall, 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 smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 81% of UK towns: 7.2%
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%.
5.5% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Rawtenstall ranks above 71% of UK towns on one-person households: 32%
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.
2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. For Rawtenstall, the census puts households with dependent children at 29%. Across England’s towns, one-person households come to 30%.
Households in flats make up 11% in Rawtenstall, more than in 52% 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 detached houses: 21%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 63% of UK towns: 5.1%
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 the Middle East and Asia (2.7%), then in EU countries (1.5%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%. 13% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
40% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 58% 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: 90% of Rawtenstall · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 5.4% of residents. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married make up 35% in Rawtenstall, more than in 68% 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
612 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Set beside that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 45% here, fewer than in 68% of UK towns. On unpaid carers, 9% here is much the same as across England’s towns.
33% of adults have qualifications at degree level
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 Rawtenstall, 18%, while 33% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 40 in Rawtenstall to 51 in Townsend Fold & Edenfield
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.
Townsend Fold & Edenfield is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; Rawtenstall the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Crawshawbooth, Reedsholme & Water (31% of households).
Of 248 UK towns its size (17,000 to 32,000 people), the 119th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Egham (31.1) and the oldest Brixham (55.6). Nearest to Rawtenstall in age: Ashington (42.7), Consett (42.7), Ely (42.7) and Rickmansworth (42.7).
Older than Rawtenstall: 4 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rawtenstall | 23,683 | — | 42.7 | 19% | 29% |
| Haslingden | 16,005 | 2 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Edenfield | 2,048 | 2.7 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 28% |
| Bacup | 13,559 | 3.3 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 30% |
| Weir | 1,290 | 3.7 mi | 44.1 | 16% | 35% |
| Accrington | 34,897 | 4.8 mi | 36.2 | 15% | 33% |
| Ramsbottom | 17,074 | 5 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 28% |
| Whitworth | 6,713 | 5.3 mi | 45 | 20% | 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 Rawtenstall’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. Rawtenstall’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 23,793 people in 2021, against 23,683 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 Rawtenstall’s residents
What is the population of Rawtenstall?
The 2021 Census counted 23,683 people in Rawtenstall’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 24,800 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Rawtenstall?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rawtenstall?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rawtenstall?
40% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.4% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Rawtenstall good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Crawshawbooth, Reedsholme & Water (31% of households). Schools are on Rawtenstall’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.