Photo: Watcher328 · Public domainRibchester: 47% of households live in a terraced house, above 97% of UK towns
Christians make up nearly two thirds of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 851 residents and 376 households in Ribchester. The share of households in detached houses stands at 17%. Half of the village’s residents are over 49.1, older than in 80% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 68% of UK towns: 24%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.5% of the total.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Ribchester ranks below 92% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 6.5%
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%.
By class, just over two in five adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 17% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. Here, 5.5% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer families than 69% of UK towns: 25% of households have 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.
A household here has 2.3 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.9%. On one-person households, Ribchester sits lower than 63% of UK towns: 28%. Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%.
Fewer car-free households than 65% of UK towns: 13%
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 make up 9.6%, against 23% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 2.7% in Ribchester, less than in 94% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (0.8%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 99% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns: 98%
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: 98% of Ribchester · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
28% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%.
Unpaid carers make up 10% in Ribchester, more than in 69% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 18 people. Against that, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 47% here and 44% across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
41% of Ribchester’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Ribchester, 3 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ribchester | 851 | — | 49.1 | 24% | 25% |
| Myerscough Smithy | 2,409 | 2.6 mi | 54.7 | 33% | 20% |
| Longridge | 8,739 | 3 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 26% |
| Old Langho | 1,072 | 3.3 mi | 42.6 | 11% | 43% |
| Langho | 1,723 | 3.5 mi | 52.1 | 31% | 23% |
| Grimsargh | 2,594 | 4 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 35% |
| Billington | 1,743 | 4.6 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Whalley | 3,411 | 4.9 mi | 49.6 | 25% | 26% |
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 Ribchester’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 Ribchester’s residents
What is the population of Ribchester?
The 2021 Census counted 851 people in Ribchester’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ribchester?
The median age was 49.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ribchester?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ribchester?
28% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Ribchester good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ribchester’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.