List of ONS built-up areas in England by population
This list of built-up areas for England was compiled by the Office for National Statistics after the 2021 UK Census.[1] Built-up area boundaries are defined and named by the ONS and do not necessarily coincide with other definitions that use the same names. (In ONS reports of the 2011 and 2021 censuses, many of these areas were called "built-up sub-areas" of larger urban areas; as of January 2026, the ONS has not defined a new nomenclature for each of the urban areas or released any data for them: for its reports on the 2021 Census, the ONS uses the term "Amalgamated Built-up Area" for urban areas but gives them a number rather than a name.[2] )
Classifications
| Population range | BUA classed as[1] | Approximate settlement type |
|---|---|---|
| 200,000+ | major | cities |
| 75,000–199,999 | large | large towns or smaller cities |
| 20,000–74,999 | medium | medium towns |
| 5,000–19,999 | small | larger village or small town |
| 0–4,999 | minor | hamlet or village or small charter town |
Major
The ONS has classified all built-up areas with a population of at least 200,000 as "major". Most are cities, with three large towns (Luton, Northampton and Reading) included.[1] (Conversely, there are many settlements that have city status but do not reach the threshold.)
Large
The ONS classified all built-up areas between 199,999 and 75,000 as large-sized, most include large towns or smaller cities.[1]
Medium
The ONS classified all built-up areas between 75,000 and 20,000 as medium-sized, most are moderate towns with some exceptional cities or villages.[1]
49,700 to 74,999
Hereford, Canterbury, Lancaster and Durham have city status, all others are towns and Rochester formerly had city status.
| # | Built-up area | 2021 Population | County | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONS[3] | Citypopulation[4] | |||
| 111 | Crewe | 74,120 | 74,123 | Cheshire |
| 112 | South Shields | 73,345 | 73,325 | Tyne and Wear |
| 113 | Stafford | 71,690 | 71,673 | Staffordshire |
| 114 | Rotherham | 71,535 | 71,542 | South Yorkshire |
| 115 | Barnsley | 71,405 | 71,422 | South Yorkshire |
| 116 | Lowestoft | 71,315 | 71,327 | Suffolk |
| 117 | Walsall | 70,775 | 70,778 | West Midlands |
| 118 | Gosport | 70,110 | 70,131 | Hampshire |
| 119 | Dartford | 69,130 | 69,134 | Kent |
| 120 | Bognor Regis | 68,435 | 68,408 | West Sussex |
| 121 | Corby | 68,160 | 68,164 | Northamptonshire |
| 122 | Paignton | 67,520 | 67,488 | Devon |
| 123 | Maidenhead | 67,375 | 67,374 | Berkshire |
| 124 | Rochester | 67,285 | 67,274 | Kent |
| 125 | Ellesmere Port | 65,430 | 65,421 | Cheshire |
| 126 | Loughborough | 64,860 | 64,884 | Leicester |
| 127 | Dudley | 64,270 | 64,275 | West Midlands |
| 128 | Dewsbury | 63,720 | 63,722 | West Yorkshire |
| 129 | Mansfield | 63,445 | 63,438 | Nottinghamshire |
| 130 | Margate | 63,320 | 63,322 | Kent |
| 131 | Kettering | 63,150 | 63,144 | Northamptonshire |
| 132 | Cannock | 63,065 | 63,054 | Staffordshire |
| 133 | Sale | 62,550 | 62,547 | Greater Manchester |
| 134 | Taunton | 61,665 | 61,674 | Somerset |
| 135 | Runcorn | 61,645 | 61,635 | Cheshire |
| 136 | Farnborough | 60,655 | 60,652 | Hampshire |
| 137 | Tynemouth | 60,605 | 60,600 | Tyne and Wear |
| 138 | Hereford | 60,480 | 60,475 | Herefordshire |
| 139 | Halesowen | 60,110 | 60,097 | West Midlands |
| 140 | Widnes | 59,935 | 59,939 | Cheshire |
| 141 | Huyton with Roby | 59,845 | 59,846 | Merseyside |
| 142 | Scarborough | 59,505 | 59,497 | North Yorkshire |
| 143 | Gravesend | 58,105 | 58,102 | Kent |
| 144 | Bebington | 57,600 | 57,597 | Merseyside |
| 145 | Kidderminster | 57,560 | 57,553 | Worcestershire |
| 146 | Stourbridge | 56,950 | 56,935 | West Midlands |
| 147 | Smethwick | 56,340 | 56,338 | West Midlands |
| 148 | Weymouth | 55,535 | 55,543 | Dorset |
| 149 | Brentwood | 55,340 | 55,358 | Essex |
| 150 | Barrow-in-Furness | 55,255 | 55,251 | Cumbria |
| 151 | Canterbury | 55,090 | 55,087 | Kent |
| 152 | Wellingborough | 54,425 | 54,412 | Northamptonshire |
| 153 | Sittingbourne | 54,390 | 54,392 | Kent |
| 154 | Macclesfield | 54,345 | 54,340 | Cheshire |
| 155 | Bootle | 53,720 | 53,718 | Merseyside |
| 156 | Carlton | 53,555 | 53,555 | Nottinghamshire |
| 157 | Clacton-on-Sea | 53,200 | 53,208 | Essex |
| 158 | Lancaster | 52,655 | 52,660 | Lancashire |
| 159 | Beeston | 52,355 | 52,356 | Nottinghamshire |
| 160 | Banbury | 52,045 | 52,052 | Oxfordshire |
| 161 | Torquay | 52,035 | 52,037 | Devon |
| 162 | Folkestone | 51,995 | 51,991 | Kent |
| 163 | Kingswinford | 51,910 | 51,904 | West Midlands |
| 164 | Bloxwich | 51,875 | 51,879 | West Midlands |
| 165 | Welwyn Garden City | 51,505 | 51,524 | Hertfordshire |
| 166 | Washington | 51,320 | 51,312 | Tyne and Wear |
| 167 | Royal Leamington Spa | 51,310 | 51,323 | Warwickshire |
| 168 | Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,220 | 51,232 | Kent |
| 169 | Hinckley | 50,725 | 50,712 | Leicestershire |
| 170 | Durham | 50,510 | 50,515 | County Durham |
| 171 | Wokingham | 50,325 | 50,320 | Berkshire |
| 172 | Crosby | 50,215 | 50,213 | Merseyside |
| 173 | Horsham | 50,215 | 50,223 | West Sussex |
| 174 | Yeovil | 50,170 | 50,176 | Somerset |
| 175 | Thundersley and South Benfleet |
49,885 | 49,881 | Essex |
30,000 to 49,699
"Citypopulation.de" does not record areas with a population lower than Thundersley and South Benfleet.
Winchester, Lichfield and Chichester have city status between 30,000 and 49,700.
20,000 to 29,999
Truro officially has city status.
See also
- List of cities in the United Kingdom
- City status in the United Kingdom, differing ways which cities have become cities.
- List of towns in England, England's towns in alphabet order and the differing ways which towns have become towns.
- List of towns and cities in England by historical population, the development of urban centres in England and before England through time.
- Settlements in ceremonial counties of England by population, places with 5,000 or more residents by county and the highest populated built-up area in each county.
- List of English districts by population, population of each local government district in England.
- List of urban areas in the United Kingdom sets out the population of each 2011 built-up area in the UK.
- List of primary urban areas in England by population
- List of built-up areas in Wales by population, Welsh equivalent.
References
- ^ a b c d e "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021". Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ "2021 Rural Urban Classification". Office for National Statistics. 22 August 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025. Table 4A in the Supplementary Tables
- ^ a b c d e "Figure 1: Explore population characteristics of individual BUAs". Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "UNITED KINGDOM: Countries and Major Cities". Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "United Kingdom: Countries and Major Urban Areas". citypopulation.de. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
Notes
- ^ See Milton Keynes urban area. (The ONS has used the name "Milton Keynes" for a sub-area of the city, being the remainder of its total built-up area after subtracting Bletchley, Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands (which were included previous definitions). In Table 4A in the Supplementary Tables of its 2021 Rural Urban Classification, the ONS defines an "Amalgamated Built-up Area" (number 2987), which identifies its component elements.)