# Most and least densely populated places in North West (2021)

Manchester was the most densely populated of North West’s 35 councils in 2021 (population density 4,772 per km²).

Westmorland and Furness was the least densely populated (60 per km²). The middle council, Warrington, had 1,168 per km².

Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place.

| Rank | Area | Population density | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Manchester](https://openindex.co.uk/manchester) | 4,772 per km² | – |
| 2 | [Liverpool](https://openindex.co.uk/liverpool) | 4,346 per km² | – |
| 3 | [Blackpool](https://openindex.co.uk/blackpool) | 4,042 per km² | – |
| 4 | [Salford](https://openindex.co.uk/salford) | 2,777 per km² | – |
| 5 | [Stockport](https://openindex.co.uk/stockport) | 2,339 per km² | – |
| 6 | [Tameside](https://openindex.co.uk/tameside) | 2,240 per km² | – |
| 7 | [Trafford](https://openindex.co.uk/trafford) | 2,217 per km² | – |
| 8 | [Bolton](https://openindex.co.uk/bolton) | 2,117 per km² | – |
| 9 | [Wirral](https://openindex.co.uk/wirral) | 1,990 per km² | – |
| 10 | [Bury](https://openindex.co.uk/bury) | 1,949 per km² | – |
| 11 | [Knowsley](https://openindex.co.uk/knowsley) | 1,786 per km² | – |
| 12 | [Sefton](https://openindex.co.uk/sefton) | 1,783 per km² | – |
| 13 | [Wigan](https://openindex.co.uk/wigan) | 1,750 per km² | – |
| 14 | [Oldham](https://openindex.co.uk/oldham) | 1,701 per km² | – |
| 15 | [Halton](https://openindex.co.uk/halton) | 1,625 per km² | – |
| 16 | [Rochdale](https://openindex.co.uk/rochdale) | 1,415 per km² | – |
| 17 | [St. Helens](https://openindex.co.uk/st-helens) | 1,344 per km² | – |
| 18 | [Warrington](https://openindex.co.uk/warrington) | 1,168 per km² | – |
| 19 | [Blackburn with Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/blackburn-with-darwen) | 1,129 per km² | – |
| 20 | [Hyndburn](https://openindex.co.uk/hyndburn) | 1,127 per km² | – |
| 21 | [Preston](https://openindex.co.uk/preston) | 1,039 per km² | – |
| 22 | [South Ribble](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ribble) | 981 per km² | – |
| 23 | [Burnley](https://openindex.co.uk/burnley) | 855 per km² | – |
| 24 | [Chorley](https://openindex.co.uk/chorley) | 581 per km² | – |
| 25 | [Pendle](https://openindex.co.uk/pendle) | 565 per km² | – |
| 26 | [Rossendale](https://openindex.co.uk/rossendale) | 513 per km² | – |
| 27 | [Fylde](https://openindex.co.uk/fylde) | 491 per km² | – |
| 28 | [Wyre](https://openindex.co.uk/wyre) | 396 per km² | – |
| 29 | [Cheshire West and Chester](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-west-and-chester) | 388 per km² | – |
| 30 | [Cheshire East](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-east) | 342 per km² | – |
| 31 | [West Lancashire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lancashire) | 339 per km² | – |
| 32 | [Lancaster](https://openindex.co.uk/lancaster) | 252 per km² | – |
| 33 | [Ribble Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/ribble-valley) | 105 per km² | – |
| 34 | [Cumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/cumberland) | 90 per km² | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census output areas in this area, because the census was published on the boundaries before this council changed. |
| 35 | [Westmorland and Furness](https://openindex.co.uk/westmorland-and-furness) | 60 per km² | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census output areas in this area, because the census was published on the boundaries before this council changed. |

Source: Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

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

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

## How to cite

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