# Fastest and slowest growing places in North West (2025)

4 of North West’s 35 councils were the joint fastest growing in 2025 (annual population change 1.8%).

Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester were the joint slowest growing (−0.1%). The middle council, Cumberland, had 0.8%.

Worked out by Open Index from the mid-year population estimates.

| Rank | Area | Annual population change |
| --- | --- | --- |
| =1 | [Burnley](https://openindex.co.uk/burnley) | 1.8% |
| =1 | [Preston](https://openindex.co.uk/preston) | 1.8% |
| =1 | [Ribble Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/ribble-valley) | 1.8% |
| =1 | [Wyre](https://openindex.co.uk/wyre) | 1.8% |
| 5 | [South Ribble](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ribble) | 1.6% |
| =6 | [Blackburn with Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/blackburn-with-darwen) | 1.4% |
| =6 | [Fylde](https://openindex.co.uk/fylde) | 1.4% |
| =8 | [Cheshire East](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-east) | 1.2% |
| =8 | [Hyndburn](https://openindex.co.uk/hyndburn) | 1.2% |
| =8 | [Knowsley](https://openindex.co.uk/knowsley) | 1.2% |
| =8 | [Rochdale](https://openindex.co.uk/rochdale) | 1.2% |
| =8 | [Rossendale](https://openindex.co.uk/rossendale) | 1.2% |
| =8 | [Salford](https://openindex.co.uk/salford) | 1.2% |
| =8 | [West Lancashire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lancashire) | 1.2% |
| 15 | [Chorley](https://openindex.co.uk/chorley) | 1.0% |
| 16 | [Stockport](https://openindex.co.uk/stockport) | 0.9% |
| =17 | [Cheshire West and Chester](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-west-and-chester) | 0.8% |
| =17 | [Cumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/cumberland) | 0.8% |
| =17 | [Sefton](https://openindex.co.uk/sefton) | 0.8% |
| =17 | [St. Helens](https://openindex.co.uk/st-helens) | 0.8% |
| =17 | [Tameside](https://openindex.co.uk/tameside) | 0.8% |
| =17 | [Wigan](https://openindex.co.uk/wigan) | 0.8% |
| =23 | [Bury](https://openindex.co.uk/bury) | 0.6% |
| =23 | [Pendle](https://openindex.co.uk/pendle) | 0.6% |
| =23 | [Trafford](https://openindex.co.uk/trafford) | 0.6% |
| =23 | [Westmorland and Furness](https://openindex.co.uk/westmorland-and-furness) | 0.6% |
| =27 | [Halton](https://openindex.co.uk/halton) | 0.5% |
| =27 | [Oldham](https://openindex.co.uk/oldham) | 0.5% |
| =27 | [Wirral](https://openindex.co.uk/wirral) | 0.5% |
| 30 | [Warrington](https://openindex.co.uk/warrington) | 0.4% |
| 31 | [Bolton](https://openindex.co.uk/bolton) | 0.3% |
| 32 | [Blackpool](https://openindex.co.uk/blackpool) | 0.1% |
| =33 | [Lancaster](https://openindex.co.uk/lancaster) | −0.1% |
| =33 | [Liverpool](https://openindex.co.uk/liverpool) | −0.1% |
| =33 | [Manchester](https://openindex.co.uk/manchester) | −0.1% |

Source: Worked out by Open Index from the mid-year population estimates. Period: 2025. Period: 2025.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/north-east)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population-change)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population-change)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/north-west.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-change/north-west