Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 17% of households have dependent children in Sough
Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Sough has 61%. 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. The median age here is 51.6, higher than in 91% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 507, in 249 households.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 27% in Sough, more than in 82% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 10% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 9.7%. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Full-time students: 3.6%, a lower share than 94% 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%.
34% of Sough’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For Sough, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 6.8%. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2 people per household, fewer 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.
33% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Sough has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 69% of UK towns, at 2%.
Below 96% of UK towns: 2.4% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
Just over one in ten households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Across Sough, 21% of households live in a detached house.
2.4% born outside the UK, fewer than in 97% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%). Higher than in 61% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Above 89% of UK towns: 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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 Sough · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 37%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Sough sits below 66% of UK towns for adults who have never married (30%)
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
Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. Lower than in 71% of UK towns: 8.6% of residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 16 residents.
A degree-level qualification for 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
27% of Sough’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have none (18%).
Every neighbour of Sough has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sough | 507 | — | 51.6 | 27% | 17% |
| Earby | 4,416 | 0.6 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Barnoldswick | 10,915 | 1.8 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 27% |
| Foulridge | 1,212 | 2.2 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 23% |
| Colne | 18,914 | 3.4 mi | 42 | 20% | 27% |
| Trawden | 1,204 | 4.3 mi | 49.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Cowling | 1,439 | 4.6 mi | 38 | 13% | 34% |
| Barrowford | 5,887 | 4.8 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Sough’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 Sough’s residents
What is the population of Sough?
The 2021 Census counted 507 people in Sough’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sough?
The median age was 51.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sough?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 2.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sough?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Sough good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sough’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.