List of localities in England by population


This article is provided for historical interest only, because this sense of 'locality' disappears in the 2011 census and consequently the table cannot be updated reliably. The data here shows the figures as at 2001 and is deliberately not current.
Localities, also called urban sub-divisions, are component areas of the urban areas of England and Wales defined by the Office for National Statistics to enable detailed study of smaller areas within conurbations, and to enable comparisons to be made with historical data. The boundaries of localities within conurbations often follow those of local authorities existing before local government re-organisation in 1974, the boundaries of current authorities within agglomerations, or the points where previously separate urban areas joined.
Localities are not the same as local government areas such as cities or borough council areas, as localities are based upon the actual built-up area and cannot extend beyond a single physically contiguous urban area, but can extend beyond local government boundaries. For the population of these local government areas see List of English districts by population.
This is a list of the localities within England that had a population greater than 100,000 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001.
RankLocalityPopulation Ceremonial countyNotes
1Birmingham970,892West MidlandsDoes not include the town of Sutton Coldfield, but does include Castle Bromwich.
Population of entire West Midlands conurbation was 2,284,093.
2Liverpool469,017MerseysideLiverpool Urban Area 864,122 List of urban areas in the United Kingdom
3Leeds443,247West YorkshireExcludes the areas of Bramhope, Guiseley, Yeadon, Garforth, Wetherby, Otley, Morley, Rawdon and Scarcroft. Entire Leeds urban area List of English districts by population had a population of 750,700.
4Sheffield439,866South YorkshireExcludes the areas of Beighton, Chapeltown and Mosborough/Highlane. Entire Urban area was 640,720
5Bristol420,556Bristol
6Manchester394,269Greater ManchesterMetropolitan district, minus Ringway. Population of entire Greater Manchester Urban Area was 2,240,230.
7Leicester330,574LeicestershireDistrict minus Beaumont Leys, plus Scraptoft, Glenfield, Thurmaston, Thurnby. Excludes Oadby and Wigston.
8Coventry325,949West MidlandsExcludes the Bedworth area of Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area. Entire population of this area was 359,262
9Croydon316,283Greater London
10Barnet314,019Greater London
11Kingston upon Hull301,416East Riding of YorkshireDistrict plus suburbs outside local authority border
12Ealing300,948Greater London
13Bradford293,717West YorkshireExcludes Shipley and Bingley.
14Bromley280,305Greater London
15Enfield273,203Greater London
16Lambeth267,785Greater London
17Brent263,464Greater London
18Wandsworth259,881Greater London
19Stoke-on-Trent259,252StaffordshireIncludes suburbs outside local authority border: Brown Edge and Blythe Bridge
20Wolverhampton251,462West MidlandsIncluded suburbs outside local authority border including Perton and Lower Penn.
21Nottingham249,584NottinghamshireExcludes Clifton. Population of the Nottingham Urban Area was 729,977.
22Lewisham248,922Greater London
23Newham243,891Greater London
24Plymouth243,795Devon
25Southwark243,749Greater London
26Hillingdon242,755Greater London
27Redbridge240,796Greater London
28Southampton234,224Hampshire
29Reading232,662BerkshireIncludes suburbs in West Berkshire and Wokingham districts.
30Derby229,407Derbyshire
31Havering223,193Greater London
32Greenwich219,263Greater London
33Waltham Forest218,341Greater London
34Haringey216,507Greater London
35Hounslow212,341Greater London
36Bexley211,802Greater London
37Harrow206,643Greater London
38Hackney202,824Greater London
39Camden198,020Greater London
40Tower Hamlets196,106Greater London
41Dudley194,919West Midlands
42Newcastle upon Tyne189,863Tyne and WearExcludes Gosforth and Newburn
43Northampton189,474Northamptonshire
44Merton187,908Greater London
45Portsmouth187,056Hampshire
46Luton185,543Bedfordshire
47Preston184,836LancashireIncludes part of South Ribble district including Walton-le-Dale.
48Westminster181,766Greater London
49Sutton177,796Greater London
50Sunderland177,739Tyne and WearSunderland proper only, not the City of Sunderland. Includes Ryhope, excludes Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Hetton-le-Hole
51Islington175,797Greater London
52Norwich174,047NorfolkIncludes Thorpe St. Andrew
53Richmond upon Thames172,335Greater London
54Walsall170,994West Midlands
55Bournemouth167,527Dorset
56Hammersmith and Fulham165,242Greater London
57Barking and Dagenham163,944Greater London
58Southend-on-Sea160,257Essex
59Kensington and Chelsea158,439Greater London
60Swindon155,432Wiltshire
61Kingston upon Thames146,873Greater London
62Huddersfield146,234West Yorkshire
63Poole144,800Dorset
64Oxford143,016Oxfordshire
65Middlesbrough142,691North YorkshireIncludes Ormesby but excludes Eston & Southbank
66Blackpool142,283Lancashire
67Oldbury/Smethwick139,855West Midlands
68Bolton139,403Greater Manchester
69Ipswich138,718Suffolk
70York137,505North Yorkshire
71West Bromwich136,940West MidlandsIncludes Tipton and Wednesbury.
72Peterborough136,292Cambridgeshire
73Stockport136,082Greater Manchester
74Brighton134,293East SussexExcludes Rottingdean/Saltdean; the town of Brighton, not the conjoined local authority of Brighton and Hove
75Slough126,276Berkshire
76Gloucester123,205Gloucestershire
77Watford120,960HertfordshireUrban subdivision of Greater London Urban Area.
78Rotherham117,262South Yorkshire
79Cambridge117,717Cambridgeshire
80Exeter106,772Devon
81Eastbourne106,562East Sussex
82Sutton Coldfield105,452West Midlands
83Blackburn105,085Lancashire
84Colchester104,390Essex
85Oldham103,544Greater Manchester
86St Helens102,629Merseyside
87Woking/Byfleet101,127Surrey
88Chesterfield101,000Derbyshire
89Crawley100,547West Sussex