Area type
Non-metropolitan District
Population Density
1,013
Population growth
0.7%
Gender ratio
1.03 male to female
english main language
90%
birth rate
12.0
death rate
10.1
Major religion
61% Christian
Urbanisation
94%
View trend
View trend
View breakdown
The population of Preston is 144,147 according to mid-2020 population figures published by the ONS. Preston's population growth rate between mid-2019 and mid-2020 was 0.7% per year. Preston covers an area of 142 square kilometres (55 square miles) and has a population density of 1,013 people per square kilometre (km2), based on the latest population estimates taken in mid-2020.
According to the latest 2011 census, the population in Preston is predominantly white (80%), with non-white minorities representing the remaining 20% of the population.
The median average age in Preston in 2019 was 35.3, with over 18s representing 79.5% of the population. The sex ratio was 102.8 males to every 100 females. Compare average age by area.
In 2011, the urban population of Preston was approximately 132,077 or 94%, while the rural population was around 8,125 or 6%.
The largest religious group in Preston is Christians who account for 61% of the population.
English is spoken as the main language by 89.8% of people in Preston, and spoken either well or very well by 8% of the remaining population. 2.0% reported having poor English language skills, and the remaining 0.4% spoke no English at all.
Main page: Preston Population
The population of Preston is 144,147 according to mid-2020 population figures published by the ONS. In the year between mid-2019 and mid-2020, the population in Preston grew by an estimated 1,012 people, and in the ten years before mid-2020, the population grew by 4,093.
Preston's population growth rate between mid-2019 and mid-2020 was 0.7%, which is 0.4% higher than the average population growth rate in Preston for the ten years before mid-2020 (0.3%).
Preston covers an area of 142 square kilometres (55 square miles) and has a population density of 1,013 people per square kilometre (km2), based on the latest population estimates taken in mid-2020. That figure has increased by 29 people per km2 over the past decade.
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According to mid-year population estimates published by the ONS in 2019, males account for 50.7% of Preston's 144,147 population, while females made up 49.3% of the total.
The sex ratio (the number of males for each female in a population) was 102.795 males to every 100 females in 2011. In England as a whole, the gender ratio was 98 males to every 100 females in 2011.
Age statistics collected by the ONS show the adult population of Preston, that is how many people there are over the age of 18, is 114,536.
Preston's age structure shows the working-age population to be 93,266 which is 64.7% of the population. People under the age of 16 represent 20.5% of the population, and over 65s represent 14.8% of the population. The percentage of the population that is of working-age has decreased over the last 10 years from 67.0% to 65.1%.
Preston's age pyramid shows how the population is distributed by age and gender.
The median average age of someone in Preston was 35.3 years in 2019. Split by gender, the average female age is 36.0 years, and the average male is 34.6 years.
Of the Preston population over the age of 90, girls outnumber boys by 2.0 to 1.
The life expectancy of someone born today in Preston is 79 years. Split by gender, a girl born today in Preston has a life expectancy of 81 years, and a boy has a life expectancy of 77 years. Compare life expectancy by area.
As a comparison, in England as a whole, current life expectancy at birth is 81 years, for females that rises to 83 years and for males it falls to 79 years.
The life expectancy for someone born in Preston has risen by 3 years over the past decade, from a life expectancy of 77 years to a life expectancy of 79 years. In England as a whole, life expectancies have risen by 3 years.
Age | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00-01 | 77.3 | 80.8 | 79.1 |
| 01-04 | 76.7 | 80.4 | 78.6 |
| 05-09 | 72.9 | 76.4 | 74.7 |
| 10-14 | 67.9 | 71.4 | 69.7 |
| 15-19 | 63.0 | 66.4 | 64.7 |
| 20-24 | 58.1 | 61.4 | 59.8 |
| 25-29 | 53.2 | 56.5 | 54.9 |
| 30-34 | 48.4 | 51.6 | 50.0 |
| 35-39 | 43.7 | 46.9 | 45.3 |
| 40-44 | 39.0 | 42.1 | 40.6 |
According to the latest 2011 census, the population in Preston is predominantly white (80.2%), with non-white minorities representing the remaining 19.8% of the population.
Asian people were the largest minority group in Preston accounting for 15.5% of the population.
1,676 or 1% of the Preston population are black according to the latest 2011 census.
In England more broadly the portion of the population that is white is 85.4%. 7.8% are Asian and 3.5% are Black.
Estimates of personal wellbeing in the UK are published by the ONS annually, with scores for anxiety, happiness, life satisfaction, and feeling that life is worthwhile. Overall scores are based on surveying a representative sample of the population and are scored out of 10 (.e.g for happiness 0 is 'not at all happy' and 10 is 'completely happy').
Levels of reported Anxiety in Preston were 3.0 in 2012 and 2.9 in 2021. In the rest of England levels of Anxiety are currently 3.1.
Reported levels of Happiness in 2021 were 7.7, and 7.2 in 2012. In England, the average happiness indicator is currently 7.5. Of the 363 areas in England, Preston is the 72 nd happiest area in England.
Life satisfaction scores for 2021 are 7.8 and were 7.7 in 2012. For the feeling that things done in life are worthwhile the 2021 level is 8.0 and was 7.7 in 2012.
Preston Salary
Preston House Prices
Preston Crime
According to the latest 2011 census, the most populous religious group within Preston is Christians, accounting for 61.0% of the population.
Preston has a Muslim population of 15,769 which is 10.9% of the population.
Compared to England as a whole, in England circa 59% of the population is Christian, 5% is Muslim, 2% is Hindu, and Buddhists, Sikhs and Jews each is around 1%. The remainder is split between people with no religion and those who decided not to identify a religion.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. Data sources: ONS Local statistics