Photo: Ian Greig · CC BY-SA 2.0Thornton sits above 94% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (97%)
Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%; Thornton has 6.9%. There were 8,747 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 19,263 residents. The census found that 26% of residents are 65 or over here. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in 75% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Thornton’s people
Many carers
2,077 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 91% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, Thornton outgrew 59% of UK towns: +9%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Thornton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 18,100 people in 2011; 19,800 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+26%), the 0 to 15 group the smallest (±0%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 500 people.
Half of Thornton is over 48.8, older than 79% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.8% of residents. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in just over three quarters of UK towns: 9%. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thornton, 48.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
8.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 64% 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%.
The share of full-time students tops 56% of UK towns: 5%. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 25% in Thornton, less than in 75% 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.
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Across Thornton, 31% of households are one person living alone. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 52% of UK towns.
Below 84% of UK towns: 12% 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
Here 15% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. 30% of households live in a detached house.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 90% of UK towns: 3.1%
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 whose main language is English: 99%, above 93% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%).
58% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 89% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 97% of Thornton · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents with no religion at 36%, Thornton is behind 77% of UK towns on that count. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46% across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (1.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.3%).
Above 91% of UK towns: 11% of residents give unpaid care
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 carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 677. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Few places have as many married adults and civil partners: 49% here, more than in 59% of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 27% of adults in Thornton, 34% across England’s towns; 18% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 43 in Thornton West to 56 in Cleveleys East
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.
Cleveleys East is the oldest area, with 36% aged 65 or over; Thornton West the youngest (median age 43). Families with children are most common in Thornton West (28% of households).
40th highest median age among 336 UK towns of 13,000 to 26,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Thornton in age: Dorchester (48.7), Conwy (48.7), Bramhall (48.9) and Abergavenny (48.9).
Of the 7 towns nearest Thornton, 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton | 19,263 | — | 48.8 | 26% | 25% |
| Cleveleys | 11,121 | 1.3 mi | 54.3 | 33% | 19% |
| Carleton | 4,793 | 1.5 mi | 52.2 | 29% | 24% |
| Hambleton | 2,428 | 1.9 mi | 51.8 | 32% | 23% |
| Poulton-le-Fylde | 12,792 | 2.5 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Stalmine | 1,193 | 2.6 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Fleetwood | 26,224 | 2.9 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 26% |
| Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea | 4,679 | 3.7 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 17% |
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 Thornton’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. Thornton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 18,661 people in 2021, against 19,263 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 Thornton’s residents
What is the population of Thornton?
The 2021 Census counted 19,263 people in Thornton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 19,800 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Thornton?
The median age was 48.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 79% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thornton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thornton?
36% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.
Is Thornton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Thornton West (28% of households). Schools are on Thornton’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.