# Biggest and smallest places in North West by population (2025)

Manchester was the most populated of North West’s 35 councils in 2025 (population estimate 588,256).

Ribble Valley was the least populated (66,938). The middle council, Bury, had 199,271.

| Rank | Area | Population estimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Manchester](https://openindex.co.uk/manchester) | 588,256 |
| 2 | [Liverpool](https://openindex.co.uk/liverpool) | 507,915 |
| 3 | [Cheshire East](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-east) | 425,459 |
| 4 | [Cheshire West and Chester](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-west-and-chester) | 373,951 |
| 5 | [Wigan](https://openindex.co.uk/wigan) | 347,089 |
| 6 | [Wirral](https://openindex.co.uk/wirral) | 329,896 |
| 7 | [Bolton](https://openindex.co.uk/bolton) | 309,732 |
| 8 | [Stockport](https://openindex.co.uk/stockport) | 304,879 |
| 9 | [Salford](https://openindex.co.uk/salford) | 297,004 |
| 10 | [Sefton](https://openindex.co.uk/sefton) | 287,583 |
| 11 | [Cumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/cumberland) | 282,343 |
| 12 | [Oldham](https://openindex.co.uk/oldham) | 251,915 |
| 13 | [Trafford](https://openindex.co.uk/trafford) | 240,981 |
| 14 | [Tameside](https://openindex.co.uk/tameside) | 240,822 |
| 15 | [Rochdale](https://openindex.co.uk/rochdale) | 237,641 |
| 16 | [Westmorland and Furness](https://openindex.co.uk/westmorland-and-furness) | 231,307 |
| 17 | [Warrington](https://openindex.co.uk/warrington) | 215,425 |
| 18 | [Bury](https://openindex.co.uk/bury) | 199,271 |
| 19 | [St. Helens](https://openindex.co.uk/st-helens) | 189,890 |
| 20 | [Preston](https://openindex.co.uk/preston) | 164,498 |
| 21 | [Blackburn with Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/blackburn-with-darwen) | 163,801 |
| 22 | [Knowsley](https://openindex.co.uk/knowsley) | 163,723 |
| 23 | [Lancaster](https://openindex.co.uk/lancaster) | 145,237 |
| 24 | [Blackpool](https://openindex.co.uk/blackpool) | 143,492 |
| 25 | [Halton](https://openindex.co.uk/halton) | 131,912 |
| 26 | [West Lancashire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lancashire) | 123,564 |
| 27 | [Chorley](https://openindex.co.uk/chorley) | 121,814 |
| 28 | [Wyre](https://openindex.co.uk/wyre) | 120,528 |
| 29 | [South Ribble](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ribble) | 117,554 |
| 30 | [Burnley](https://openindex.co.uk/burnley) | 100,946 |
| 31 | [Pendle](https://openindex.co.uk/pendle) | 100,203 |
| 32 | [Hyndburn](https://openindex.co.uk/hyndburn) | 86,908 |
| 33 | [Fylde](https://openindex.co.uk/fylde) | 86,689 |
| 34 | [Rossendale](https://openindex.co.uk/rossendale) | 73,688 |
| 35 | [Ribble Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/ribble-valley) | 66,938 |

Source: Mid-year population estimates, ONS population estimates. Period: 2025. Period: 2025.

## Other rankings of this measure

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

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

## How to cite

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