Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 99% of UK towns: 62% of households live in a terraced house
Here 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. Withnell had 853 residents and 376 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 45.5. For Withnell, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 1.6%. Few places have so few households in flats: 2.9% here, fewer than in 93% of UK towns.
Below 81% of UK towns: 8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 45.5, Withnell is older than 58% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over. In Garstang, the oldest of Lancashire’s towns by this measure, it is 39%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns, at 5.1%
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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%; Withnell has 5.1%. Measured more widely, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of one-person households than 69% of UK towns, at 28%
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.
Compared with 29% across England’s towns, 28% of households have dependent children here. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people.
In Withnell, 8.6% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 89% 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
Here 23% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Households without a car or van make up 24% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 98% of UK towns, at 2.2%
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
Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language; in Withnell, 99%. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (0.8%) and in Africa (0.6%).
Withnell: 66% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 99% 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: 97% of Withnell · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 29% here and 37% across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Mixed or multiple (1.5%), Other White (0.5%) and Caribbean (0.5%). Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Withnell sits above 60% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (49%)
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
22 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are more common here than in just over two thirds of UK towns. With adults who have never married at 32%, Withnell is behind 52% of UK towns on that count.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Withnell counts 40% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 13% have no qualification (18%).
Withnell sits below 3 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Withnell | 853 | — | 45.5 | 21% | 28% |
| Brinscall | 1,332 | 0.6 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 25% |
| Whittle-le-Woods | 4,388 | 3.3 mi | 45.1 | 17% | 31% |
| Gregson Lane | 2,073 | 3.6 mi | 52.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Darwen | 27,897 | 3.7 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 27% |
| Coup Green | 1,208 | 4.1 mi | 57.6 | 37% | 17% |
| Chorley | 39,539 | 4.2 mi | 42.2 | 20% | 28% |
| Blackburn | 124,958 | 4.5 mi | 35.5 | 14% | 37% |
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 Withnell’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 Withnell’s residents
What is the population of Withnell?
The 2021 Census counted 853 people in Withnell’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Withnell?
The median age was 45.5 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Withnell?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 2.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Withnell?
29% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 3.9% didn’t answer.
Is Withnell good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Withnell’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.