Photo: Mike and Kirsty Grundy · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Waddington is over 58.6
17% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. Waddington’s 496 households held 1,005 residents at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 57%, more than in 94% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Waddington’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Waddington’s residents are under 58.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 38% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
38% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 11% of residents, 2.3 times the share across England’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 99% of UK towns: 5%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 1.8%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for nearly two fifths of Waddington’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 18%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%. On the census count, 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Smaller households than 97% of UK towns: 2 people on average
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.
The share of one-person households is 35%, against 30% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 87% of UK towns: 9%
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; in Waddington, 5.2%. One household in 11 has no car or van. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 62% of UK towns.
Waddington sits below 94% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (2.8%)
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
100% of residents have English as their main language; across England’s towns the figure is 90%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Fewer residents with no religion than 99% of UK towns: 21%
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 Waddington · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 72%, against 46% across England’s towns. Across Waddington, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Waddington ranks below 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 18%
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
11% of residents give unpaid care; across England’s towns the figure is 8.7%. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of Waddington’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification (18%).
The towns around Waddington are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waddington | 1,005 | — | 58.6 | 38% | 17% |
| Clitheroe | 16,626 | 1.4 mi | 44 | 22% | 26% |
| Chatburn | 1,125 | 2.5 mi | 49.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Barrow | 1,388 | 3.4 mi | 43.3 | 19% | 30% |
| Whalley | 3,411 | 4.4 mi | 49.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Old Langho | 1,072 | 4.7 mi | 42.6 | 11% | 43% |
| Sabden | 1,582 | 4.9 mi | 48.1 | 22% | 24% |
| Billington | 1,743 | 5 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 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 Waddington’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 Waddington’s residents
What is the population of Waddington?
The 2021 Census counted 1,005 people in Waddington’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Waddington?
The median age was 58.6 at the 2021 Census. 5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 38% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Waddington?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Waddington?
21% said they had no religion and 72% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Waddington good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Waddington’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.