Church of St Andrew · Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.057% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 89% of UK towns
Households without a car or van make up 18%, against 24% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put Bebington’s population at 57,607, in 25,083 households. In Bebington, 19% of households live in a detached house. This Merseyside town has more unpaid carers than 86% of UK towns, at 11%.
Slower growth than 69% of UK towns: Bebington changed by +4% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bebington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 58,000 people in 2011; 60,000 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2021 to mid-2022, the population rose by 430, the most of any year. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+17%) and the 45 to 64 least (−3%).
23% of Bebington is 65 or over, a higher share than 58% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The median age in Bebington is 45.1, higher than in 54% of UK towns. For Bebington, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.5%. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Billinge, the oldest of Merseyside’s towns by this measure, it is 34%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bebington, 45.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Only 6.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Bebington
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 take in just over a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 23% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). In Bebington, 5.5% of adults are full-time students. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Bebington, 2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 71% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Merseyside’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Census figures put households with dependent children at 27% in Bebington. Higher than in 53% of UK towns: 30% of households are one person living alone. Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; here, 2.3.
Below 55% of UK towns: 9.8% 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
Households in terraced houses: just over a fifth of the total. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 72% of UK towns: 4.4%
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: 98%, above 66% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%).
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 65% 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: 94% of Bebington · Merseyside’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
36% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%. The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.6%).
Bebington ranks above 59% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 34%
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
For 1,885 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. On married adults and civil partners, Bebington sits lower than 51% of UK towns: 48%. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
33% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 33% of adults in Bebington, 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 41 in Lower Bebington & Bromborough Pool to 53 in Poulton, Raby Mere & Thornton Hough
The town’s 8 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Poulton, Raby Mere & Thornton Hough is the oldest area, with 33% aged 65 or over; Lower Bebington & Bromborough Pool the youngest (median age 41). Families with children are most common in Woodhey (30% of households).
16th highest median age among 126 UK towns of 40,000 to 78,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 54.4 in Lytham St Anne's. Nearest to Bebington in age: Urmston (44.5), Neath (44.8), Chesterfield (45.5) and Crosby (45.7).
Median age: 4 of the 7 towns around Bebington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bebington | 57,607 | — | 45.1 | 23% | 27% |
| Willaston (Cheshire West and Chester) | 2,472 | 3.2 mi | 54.9 | 33% | 21% |
| Birkenhead | 109,854 | 3.7 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 28% |
| Heswall | 29,082 | 4.2 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 23% |
| Neston | 14,963 | 4.3 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Ellesmere Port | 65,425 | 5.6 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 29% |
| Greasby | 9,175 | 5.6 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| Liverpool | 506,564 | 5.6 mi | 36.2 | 15% | 26% |
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.
- “Merseyside’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Merseyside (or England), summed the same way as Bebington’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. Bebington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 58,491 people in 2021, against 57,607 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 Bebington’s residents
What is the population of Bebington?
The 2021 Census counted 57,607 people in Bebington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 60,000 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bebington?
The median age was 45.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 54% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bebington?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Merseyside’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bebington?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bebington good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Woodhey (30% of households). Schools are on Bebington’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.