Compare where children, young adults, working-age people and older residents make up the greatest shares—and how those populations changed from 2021 to 2025.
316 councils294 England and 22 Wales
2025 estimatesCurrent population-share basis
2021–2025Population-change period
Age group
Comparison
Population estimates are not exact counts. They may be revised as ONS incorporates improved evidence. Age groups intentionally overlap: school-age residents are within children, and young adults overlap the working-age group.
Highest values: Working-age population aged 16–64
Highest values for Working-age population aged 16–64
Rank
Council area
Nation
Change
2025 cohort
2025 share
2021 cohort
People change
1
Preston
England
+12.2%
108,304
65.8%
96,543
+11,761
2
Salford
England
+12.1%
203,831
68.6%
181,815
+22,016
3
Barking and Dagenham
England
+12.1%
159,944
67.1%
142,697
+17,247
4
South Derbyshire
England
+10.3%
74,600
62.5%
67,627
+6,973
5
Newham
England
+10.3%
276,589
73.5%
250,828
+25,761
6
Rugby
England
+9.9%
78,778
62.7%
71,662
+7,116
7
Tower Hamlets
England
+9.8%
260,614
78.0%
237,422
+23,192
8
Manchester
England
+9.4%
420,296
71.5%
384,367
+35,929
9
Hillingdon
England
+9.0%
217,979
66.7%
199,954
+18,025
10
Mid Suffolk
England
+8.7%
66,056
58.4%
60,789
+5,267
11
Stratford-on-Avon
England
+8.6%
86,308
58.0%
79,504
+6,804
12
Tewkesbury
England
+8.6%
61,411
59.2%
56,570
+4,841
13
Newcastle upon Tyne
England
+8.5%
219,098
68.3%
201,983
+17,115
14
Vale of White Horse
England
+8.4%
92,469
60.8%
85,336
+7,133
15
Exeter
England
+8.3%
95,582
69.3%
88,291
+7,291
16
Dartford
England
+8.3%
80,843
64.0%
74,684
+6,159
17
Maidstone
England
+8.2%
118,110
61.7%
109,124
+8,986
18
North West Leicestershire
England
+8.1%
70,612
62.3%
65,311
+5,301
19
Central Bedfordshire
England
+7.8%
199,042
61.9%
184,667
+14,375
20
Bristol, City of
England
+7.8%
353,243
71.3%
327,766
+25,477
Lowest values: Working-age population aged 16–64
Lowest values for Working-age population aged 16–64
Rank
Council area
Nation
Change
2025 cohort
2025 share
2021 cohort
People change
1
Cotswold
England
-2.4%
51,510
56.3%
52,784
-1,274
2
New Forest
England
-2.3%
95,053
54.0%
97,331
-2,278
3
Conwy
Wales
-2.2%
63,649
55.6%
65,047
-1,398
4
Merthyr Tydfil
Wales
-2.1%
35,805
61.4%
36,554
-749
5
Isle of Anglesey
Wales
-2.0%
38,177
55.7%
38,949
-772
6
North Norfolk
England
-1.9%
53,719
51.8%
54,755
-1,036
7
Isle of Wight
England
-1.9%
77,287
54.9%
78,743
-1,456
8
Fareham
England
-1.8%
66,631
57.8%
67,875
-1,244
9
Derbyshire Dales
England
-1.5%
40,523
56.3%
41,122
-599
10
Ipswich
England
-1.3%
87,575
62.8%
88,711
-1,136
11
High Peak
England
-1.3%
55,168
60.2%
55,865
-697
12
Powys
Wales
-1.0%
74,840
55.5%
75,565
-725
13
Lambeth
England
-0.7%
240,102
76.4%
241,820
-1,718
14
North Lincolnshire
England
-0.7%
101,562
59.3%
102,277
-715
15
Gosport
England
-0.7%
49,478
59.9%
49,823
-345
16
Castle Point
England
-0.7%
51,529
56.9%
51,872
-343
17
Rutland
England
-0.5%
24,136
58.0%
24,268
-132
18
Neath Port Talbot
Wales
-0.5%
86,233
60.7%
86,697
-464
19
Great Yarmouth
England
-0.5%
58,645
58.1%
58,934
-289
20
Torbay
England
-0.5%
79,538
57.0%
79,906
-368
Methodology and limitations
Current share
The selected age-group population as a percentage of the council's total 2025 population.
Population change
Percentage change in the selected age group between 2021 and 2025. “Lowest” is used because some groups grew everywhere.
Eligibility
Councils require at least 10,000 residents in both years. Change rankings also require at least 500 people in the starting cohort.
Source: Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates via Nomis. Current April 2023 district and unitary authority geography. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.