Photo: Nigel Thompson · CC BY-SA 2.0In Wesham, 15% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
31% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 4,474 residents in 1,925 households. In Wesham, 34% of residents said they have no religion. At 32%, the share of households with dependent children is higher than in 83% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Wesham’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Wesham at 3,600 in 2011 and 4,600 in 2024, up 28%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 93% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Wesham grew +28% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wesham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,600 people in 2011; 4,600 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+58%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+3%). In one year, mid-2020 to mid-2021, the population rose by 250, the most of any year.
Half of Wesham is under 40, younger than 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 10% here and 12% across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wesham, 40. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
A student town: 6.1% of adults study full-time
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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 28% of households are one person living alone in Wesham
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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 2.7% in Wesham. Measured more widely, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people.
31% of households live in a detached house, more than in 55% 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
15% of households have no car or van. Few places have so few households in flats: 11% here, fewer than in half of UK towns. Across England’s towns, households in detached houses come to 21%.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 78% of UK towns: 95%
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
8.2% of residents were born outside the UK; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (5.9%) or in Africa (0.9%).
59% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 93% 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: 91% of Wesham · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 73% across England’s towns, 91% of residents describe themselves as White British in Wesham. The groups that follow White British are Other White (5.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and African (0.4%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A higher share of adults who have never married than 69% of UK towns, at 36%
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
Married adults and civil partners: 46%, below 66% of UK towns. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns. 127 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. On unpaid carers, Wesham sits lower than 52% of UK towns: 9.3%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Wesham’s adults: 32% with a degree-level qualification and 15% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Many still at university: 21% list A levels as their highest qualification.
92nd youngest of 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Wesham in age: Bethesda (39.8), Holmfield (39.9), Eye (40) and Weldon (40).
Wesham is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesham | 4,474 | — | 40 | 15% | 32% |
| Kirkham | 8,939 | 0.8 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 26% |
| Wrea Green | 1,899 | 1.6 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 26% |
| Newton-with-Scales | 1,510 | 2.3 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 26% |
| Warton (Fylde) | 4,180 | 2.6 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 29% |
| Freckleton | 4,478 | 2.8 mi | 54.6 | 32% | 20% |
| Elswick | 1,047 | 3.2 mi | 51.3 | 27% | 25% |
| Clifton | 1,022 | 3.4 mi | 44.9 | 19% | 23% |
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 Wesham’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. Wesham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,474 people in 2021, against 4,474 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 Wesham’s residents
What is the population of Wesham?
The 2021 Census counted 4,474 people in Wesham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,600 people in mid-2024, 28% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wesham?
The median age was 40 at the 2021 Census, younger than 80% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wesham?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 8.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wesham?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Wesham good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wesham’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. 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.