List of ONS built-up areas in England by population explained

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.

Classifications

Population range	BUA classed as	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

Major

The ONS classified all built-up areas with a population of at least 200,000 as major. Most are cities^[1] with some exceptional towns; Luton, Northampton and Reading) The West Midlands county has three cities over 200,000; Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton.

	Built-up area<	--Don't link to places in this column-->	2021 Population		County	Related places
		ONS^[2]	Citypopulation^[3]
1	London		8,776,535	Greater London City of London
2	Birmingham	1,121,375	1,121,408
3	Leeds	536,280	536,321
4	Liverpool	506,565	506,552
5	Sheffield	500,535	500,552
6	Manchester	470,405	470,411
7		425,215	425,232	Bristol
8	Leicester	406,580	406,588
9	Coventry	344,285	344,322
10	Bradford	333,950	333,931	West Yorkshire
11	Nottingham	299,790	299,797	Nottinghamshire
12	Newcastle upon Tyne	286,445	286,468
13	Brighton and Hove	277,105	277,106
14	Derby	275,575	275,599
15	Kingston upon Hull	270,810	270,806
16	Plymouth	266,955	266,983	Devon
17	Milton Keynes	197,340	197,354	Buckinghamshire
18	Stoke-on-Trent	260,560	260,602
19	Southampton	249,620	249,604
20	Northampton	243,520	243,511
21	Wolverhampton	234,025	234,015
22	Luton	233,525	233,498
23	Portsmouth	223,305	223,312
24	Reading	203,795	203,808
25	Norwich	200,770	200,752

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]

	Built-up area<	--Don't link to places in this column-->	2021 Population		County	Related places
		ONS	Citypopulation
26	Bournemouth	196,455	196,445
27	Peterborough	190,605	190,584
28	Bolton	184,090	184,073
29	Swindon	183,680	183,638
30	Southend-on-Sea	182,305	182,287
31	Warrington	174,970	174,954
32	Oxford	170,805	170,798
33	Sunderland	168,315	168,277
34	Slough	166,855	166,877
35	Kingswood and Fishponds	160,270	160,260
36	Telford	156,910	156,896
37	Cambridge	152,740	152,725
38	Ipswich	151,565	151,562
39	Blackpool	149,070	149,056
40	Middlesbrough	148,215	148,219
41	York	141,685	141,671
42	Huddersfield	141,675	141,692
43	Poole	141,005	140,977
44	Watford	131,325	131,326
45	Colchester	130,245	130,248
46	Exeter	126,175	126,156
47	Blackburn	124,955	124,983
48	Crawley	120,550	120,549
49	Gloucester	118,555	118,541
50	Stockport	117,935	117,941
51	Basingstoke	117,210	117,207
52	Basildon	115,955	115,964
53	Cheltenham	115,940	115,959
54	Gateshead	115,280	115,316
55	Worthing	111,620	111,621
56	Rochdale	111,255	111,261
57	Oldham	110,720	110,718
58	Chelmsford	110,625	110,606
59	Birkenhead	109,835	109,848
60	Maidstone	109,490	109,490
61	Gillingham	108,480	108,483
62	Salford	108,410	108,409
63	Solihull	107,735	107,728
64	St Helens	107,680	107,677
65	Worcester	105,465	105,455
66	Lincoln	104,555	104,565
67	West Bromwich	103,110	103,112
68	Eastbourne	99,180	99,189
69	Wakefield	97,870	97,852
70	Wythenshawe	97,660	97,635
71	Bedford	97,235	97,241
72	Hemel Hempstead	95,985	95,961
73	Preston	94,490	94,508
74	Stevenage	94,470	94,456
75	Southport	94,440	94,421
76	Bath	94,080	94,092
77	Harlow	93,580	93,566
78	Royal Sutton Coldfield	93,375	93,369
79	Darlington	93,015	93,037
80	Chester	92,760	92,742
81	Hastings	91,490	91,480
82	Nuneaton	88,815	88,813
83	Halifax	88,115	88,109
84	Hartlepool	87,995	87,984
85	Aylesbury	87,950	87,967
86	Doncaster	87,455	87,457
87	Grimsby	85,925	85,911
88	Wallasey	85,610	85,611
89	Stockton-on-Tees	84,815	84,801
90	Weston-super-Mare	84,605	84,628
91	High Wycombe	83,535	83,523
92	Ashford	82,140	82,164
93	Redditch	81,635	81,637
94	Wigan	81,580	81,557
95	Scunthorpe	81,265	81,286
96	Bury	81,095	81,101
97	Bracknell	78,675	78,660
98	Burnley	78,255	78,270
99	Rugby	78,120	78,117
100	Guildford	77,880	77,854
101	Carlisle	77,730	77,728
102	Chatham	76,955	76,983
103	Newcastle-under-Lyme	76,505	76,503
104	Chesterfield	76,420	76,402
105	Burton upon Trent	76,255	76,270
106	Tamworth	76,090	76,092
107	Shrewsbury	76,015	75,992
108	Woking	75,660	75,666
109	St Albans	75,540	75,537
110	Harrogate	75,515	75,507

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<	--Don't link to places in this column-->	2021 Population		County
		ONS	Citypopulation
111		74,120	74,123	Cheshire
112		73,345	73,325	Tyne and Wear
113		71,690	71,673	Staffordshire
114		71,535	71,542	South Yorkshire
115		71,405	71,422	South Yorkshire
116		71,315	71,327	Suffolk
117		70,775	70,778	West Midlands
118		70,110	70,131	Hampshire
119		69,130	69,134
120		68,435	68,408	West Sussex
121	Corby	68,160	68,164
122	Paignton	67,520	67,488
123		67,375	67,374	Berkshire
124		67,285	67,274
125		65,430	65,421	Cheshire
126		64,860	64,884	Leicester
127		64,270	64,275	West Midlands
128		63,720	63,722	West Yorkshire
129		63,445	63,438	Nottinghamshire
130		63,320	63,322
131		63,150	63,144	Northamptonshire
132		63,065	63,054	Staffordshire
133		62,550	62,547	Greater Manchester
134		61,665	61,674	Somerset
135		61,645	61,635	Cheshire
136		60,655	60,652	Hampshire
137		60,605	60,600	Tyne and Wear
138		60,480	60,475
139		60,110	60,097
140		59,935	59,939	Cheshire
141		59,845	59,846
142		59,505	59,497	North Yorkshire
143		58,105	58,102
144		57,600	57,597	Merseyside
145		57,560	57,553		-	146		56,950	56,935	West Midlands
147		56,340	56,338	West Midlands
148		55,535	55,543	Dorset
149		55,340	55,358	Essex
150		55,255	55,251	Cumbria
151		55,090	55,087	Kent
152		54,425	54,412		-	153		54,390	54,392	Kent
154		54,345	54,340	Cheshire
155		53,720	53,718	Merseyside
156		53,555	53,555		-	157		53,200	53,208	Essex
158		52,655	52,660
159		52,355	52,356	Nottinghamshire
160		52,045	52,052	Oxfordshire
161		52,035	52,037
162		51,995	51,991
163		51,910	51,904
164		51,875	51,879	West Midlands
165		51,505	51,524	Hertfordshire
166		51,320	51,312	Tyne and Wear
167		51,310	51,323	Warwickshire
168		51,220	51,232	Kent
169		50,725	50,712	Leicestershire
170		50,510	50,515	County Durham
171		50,325	50,320	Berkshire
172		50,215	50,213	Merseyside
173		50,215	50,223
174		50,170	50,176	Somerset
175		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.

	BUA	2021 Pop.	County
176		49,680	Greater Manchester
177		49,580	West Midlands
178		48,985	Dorset
179		48,750	West Yorkshire
180		48,600	Greater Manchester
181		48,480	Hampshire
182		48,480	Hampshire
183		48,360
184		47,860	Somerset
185		47,690	Wiltshire
186		47,615	Norfolk
187		47,200	West Midlands
188		47,150	Surrey
189		46,960
190		46,630
191		45,560	Merseyside
192		45,495	Greater Manchester
193		45,355	West Yorkshire
194		45,355	Tyne and Wear
195		45,340	Lincolnshire
196		45,180	West Midlands
197		45,010	Buckinghamshire
198		44,905	Lincolnshire
199		44,500	West Yorkshire
200		44,345	Essex
201		43,755
202		43,750	Wiltshire
203		43,680	Hertfordshire
204		43,440
205		43,190	Essex
206		42,735	Bedfordshire
207		42,695
208		42,625
209		42,260
210		42,030	Kent
211		41,740
212		41,560	Hertfordshire
213		41,280	Suffolk
214		41,125	Greater Manchester
215		40,915	Hertfordshire
216		40,615	Hertfordshire
217		40,360
218		40,185
219		40,010	Nottinghamshire
220		39,825	Hampshire
221		39,765	Hertfordshire
222		39,730	Northumberland
223		39,535
224		39,295	Lancashire
225		39,225
226		39,050
227		38,725
228		38,010
229		37,820	Derbyshire
230		37,790	Hampshire
231		37,755
232		37,660	North Yorkshire
233		37,610	Greater Manchester
234		36,880	Tyne and Wear
235		36,785
236		36,680	Warwickshire
237		36,490
238		36,425	Nottinghamshire
239		36,360	Kent
240		36,125
241		36,090	Wiltshire
242		35,995	Greater Manchester
243		35,895	Greater Manchester
244		35,850	Surrey
245		35,840	Nottinghamshire
246		35,755	Hampshire
247		35,500	Devon
248	Hitchin	35,220
249		34,915	Lancashire
250		34,895
251		34,850	West Yorkshire
252		34,845	East Riding of Yorkshire
253		34,775	Hampshire
254		34,755	Worcestershire
255		34,730	Leicestershire
256		34,690	Lancashire
257		34,640	West Midlands
258		34,600	Oxfordshire
259		34,565	Derbyshire
260		34,500
261		34,075	Essex
262		34,050	Hampshire
263		33,990	Hertfordshire
264		33,920
265		33,885	West Sussex
266		33,805	Lancashire
267	Burgess Hill	33,355
268		33,345
269		33,265	Cambridgeshire
270		33,185
271		33,175	Oxfordshire
272		33,160	West Yorkshire
273		33,040	Berkshire
274		33,035
275		32,975	West Yorkshire
276		32,750	Lancashire
277		32,580	Staffordshire
278		32,550	West Yorkshire
279		32,530	Cheshire
280		32,525
281		32,380	Essex
282		32,305	West Midlands
283		32,195	Kent
284		31,990	West Midlands
285		31,975
286		31,710	West Sussex
287		31,685	Northamptonshire
288		31,560	Berkshire
289		31,495	Greater Manchester
290		31,275
291		31,115	Greater Manchester
292		31,090	Warwickshire
293		30,965	Hertfordshire
294		30,930	East Riding of Yorkshire
295		30,550	Lincolnshire
296		30,165	Oxfordshire
297		30,005	Cheshire

20,000 to 29,999

Truro officially has city status.

	BUA	2021 Pop.	County
298		29,900	Kent
299		29,885	County Durham
300		29,755
301		29,725	Greater Manchester
302		29,670	Lincolnshire
303		29,650	Devon
304	Eston	29,635	North Yorkshire
305		29,525	Essex
306		29,470	Tyne and Wear
307		29,225	West Yorkshire
308		29,075
309		28,985	Kent
310		28,985	Norfolk
311		28,940	Cumbria
312	Cramlington	28,845
313	Hertford	28,800
314		28,760	Greater Manchester
315		28,425
316		28,350
317		28,280	Northumberland
318		28,250	Worcestershire
319		28,120
320		28,090	Hampshire
321		28,025	Berkshire
322	Stretford	28,015	Greater Manchester
323		28,000	Surrey
324		27,930	West Sussex
325	Frome	27,905
326	Burntwood	27,900
327		27,900	Lancashire
328		27,790	Northamptonshire
329		27,715	Lancashire
330		27,575
331		27,535	Essex
332		27,515	Surrey
333		27,450	Leicestershire
334		27,395	Essex
335		27,095	Surrey
336		27,070
337		27,020	Surrey
338		26,880	Tyne and Wear
339		26,830	Greater Manchester
340	Wisbech	26,795	Cambridgeshire
341		26,705	Suffolk
342		26,475	Kent
343	Droitwich Spa	26,420
344		26,375	Greater Manchester
345		26,355	Somerset
346		26,350	West Sussex
347		26,290
348		26,225	Lancashire
349		26,150
350	Rugeley	26,145
351	Stroud	26,080
352		25,825	Greater Manchester
353		25,775	Kent
354		25,765	County Durham
355		25,725	Cheshire
356		25,600	Cambridgeshire
357		25,555
358	Thatcham	25,550	Berkshire
359	Thetford	25,510	Norfolk
360		25,405	Isle of Wight
361		25,205	West Midlands
362		25,200	Gloucestershire
363		24,870
364		24,785	Greater Manchester
365		24,655	South Yorkshire
366		24,650	Merseyside
367		24,545
368		24,490	Greater Manchester
369		24,470	Norfolk
370		24,360	Cornwall
371	Lee-on-the-Solent	24,315	Hampshire
372	Ash and Ash Vale	24,285	Surrey
373		24,260	Derbyshire
374		24,220	Suffolk
375		24,165	Leicestershire
376		24,105	Isle of Wight
377		24,070	Cornwall
378		24,030	Leicestershire
379		23,995	Berkshire
380		23,920
381		23,915	Greater Manchester
382		23,865	East Sussex
383		23,780	Surrey
384		23,740	Nottinghamshire
385		23,695	Buckinghamshire
386		23,680	Lancashire
387		23,660	West Sussex
388		23,585	Essex
389		23,560	County Durham
390		23,410	Greater Manchester
391		23,400
392		23,380	North Yorkshire
393		23,380	Essex
394		23,355	County Durham
395		23,350	North Yorkshire
396	Hedge End	23,190
397		23,060	Cornwall
398		22,990	Greater Manchester
399		22,945	Cumbria
400		22,935	Nottinghamshire
401		22,890	Merseyside
402		22,885	Greater Manchester
403	Ashford	22,825
404		22,785	Bedfordshire
405		22,755
406		22,550	East Sussex
407		22,440	Essex
408		22,235	Warwickshire
409		22,200	Greater Manchester
410		22,185	Greater Manchester
411		22,180	South Yorkshire
412		21,990	East Sussex
413		21,980	Leicestershire
414		21,980	West Yorkshire
415		21,960	Greater Manchester
416		21,950	Bedfordshire
417		21,910	Lincolnshire
418		21,855	West Yorkshire
419		21,665	County Durham
420		21,655	Surrey
421		21,540	West Midlands
422		21,535	Suffolk
423		21,475	Surrey
424	Old Trafford	21,445	Greater Manchester
425		21,360	Dorset
426		21,345	Tyne and Wear
427		21,345	March
428		21,330	West Yorkshire
429		21,325
430		21,275	Cumbria
431		21,270	Nottinghamshire
432		21,240	Hertfordshire
433		21,240	West Midlands
434		21,160	Derbyshire
435		21,155	Greater Manchester
436		21,125	Gloucestershire
437		21,085	Somerset
438		20,965	West Yorkshire
439		20,940	Kent
440		20,785	Norfolk
441		20,750	Lincolnshire
442		20,700	Greater Manchester
443		20,700	Lincolnshire
444		20,690	Wiltshire
445		20,500	Surrey
446		20,485	Lancashire
447		20,450	Cornwall
448	Spennymoor	20,410
449		20,370	Merseyside
450		20,315	West Midlands
451		20,305	Worcestershire
452		20,215	Essex
453		20,215	Berkshire
454		20,180	Derbyshire
455		20,175
456		20,170	Greater Manchester
457		20,050	Derbyshire
458		20,005	Buckinghamshire

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 built-up areas in Wales by population, Welsh equivalent.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021. 13 April 2024.
2. Web site: Figure 1: Explore population characteristics of individual BUAs. 13 March 2024.
3. Web site: UNITED KINGDOM: Countries and Major Cities. 4 May 2024.