Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 94% of UK towns: half of Billinge is over 53.3
Christians make up 73% of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. Billinge’s 2,183 households held 4,963 residents at the 2021 Census. The census found that 22% of households have dependent children locally. On married adults and civil partners, Billinge sits higher than 92% of UK towns: 57%.
What the Census says about Billinge’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Billinge’s residents are under 53.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
608 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 13% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 34% in Billinge, more than in 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 9.2% in Billinge. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Billinge, 53.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Billinge sits below 99% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (4.4%)
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%.
Full-time students make up 4.3% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 87% 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.
By its share of one-person households (26%), Billinge is below 78% of UK towns. The usual figure: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Households in terraced houses: 5.3%, a lower share than 98% 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
The share of households in flats is 3.2%, against 23% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households in terraced houses is 24% across England’s towns. For Billinge, the census puts households without a car or van at 13%. At 33%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in three fifths of UK towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 97% of UK towns: 2.4%
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
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 13% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. 100% of residents have English as their main language.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 98% of UK towns: 23%
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 Billinge · Merseyside’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
97% of residents describe themselves as White British; across England’s towns the figure is 73%. Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns.
13% of residents give unpaid care, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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
A quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (England’s towns: 39%). Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
31% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
18% of Billinge’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 31% have one at degree level (34%).
74th highest median age among 810 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Billinge in age: Walton (52.9), Darley Dale (53.1), Carbis Bay (53.3) and Dunnington (53.4).
Billinge is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billinge | 4,963 | — | 53.3 | 34% | 22% |
| Haydock | 16,143 | 2.3 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 26% |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 26,367 | 2.6 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Orrell | 23,412 | 2.8 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Rainford | 5,573 | 3.2 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 22% |
| St Helens | 107,684 | 3.4 mi | 41.7 | 19% | 28% |
| Wigan | 81,580 | 4 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Newton-le-Willows | 24,651 | 4.1 mi | 38.1 | 15% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Billinge’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 Billinge’s residents
What is the population of Billinge?
The 2021 Census counted 4,963 people in Billinge’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Billinge?
The median age was 53.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 94% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Billinge?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Merseyside’s towns. 2.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Billinge?
23% said they had no religion and 73% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 3.7% didn’t answer.
Is Billinge good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Billinge’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.