Photo: Peter Barr · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 52.5: Long Preston is older than 93% of UK towns
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Long Preston comes in at 0.9%. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British stands at 98%. Lower than in 97% of UK towns: 5.9% of households have no car or van. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 774, in 340 households.
In Long Preston, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 84% of UK towns: 28%. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 5.6% in Long Preston, less than in 99% of UK towns
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%.
In Long Preston, 41% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 16% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Full-time students are rarer here than in 75% of UK towns. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
In Long Preston, 22% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 88% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Long Preston has 26%. In Long Preston, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Households with dependent children make up 29% across England’s towns.
34% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 88% 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
Households in detached houses: 33% here and 21% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 1.8%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (0.8%) and in Africa (0.4%). The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Set against 90% across England’s towns, 100% of residents have English as their main language in Long Preston.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 86% of UK towns: 56%
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 Long Preston · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 35% here and 37% across England’s towns. On average, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 1.2% of residents said their religion is Muslim.
More married adults and civil partners than 95% of UK towns: 58%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 13. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 94% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. Here 9.8% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%.
Among adults, 40% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Long Preston, 40% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Long Preston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Preston | 774 | — | 52.5 | 28% | 22% |
| Hellifield | 1,478 | 1.6 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 24% |
| Settle | 2,710 | 3.5 mi | 58.2 | 37% | 14% |
| Giggleswick | 1,075 | 3.8 mi | 54.2 | 33% | 18% |
| Gargrave | 1,502 | 6.7 mi | 56.5 | 36% | 17% |
| Barnoldswick | 10,915 | 7.5 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 27% |
| Earby | 4,416 | 8.6 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Chatburn | 1,125 | 9.5 mi | 49.9 | 25% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Long Preston’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 Long Preston’s residents
What is the population of Long Preston?
The 2021 Census counted 774 people in Long Preston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Long Preston?
The median age was 52.5 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Long Preston?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 1.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Long Preston?
35% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Long Preston good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Long Preston’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.