Liverpool’s famous skyline. Image: SakhanPhotography - stock.adobe.Liverpool’s famous skyline. Image: SakhanPhotography - stock.adobe.
Liverpool’s famous skyline. Image: SakhanPhotography - stock.adobe.

The 10 biggest cities in England by population and where Liverpool is ranked

Liverpool is a popular, thriving city but based on population alone where does it stand alongside England’s largest cities?

England is home to many amazing cities (although one is obviously better than the rest), with each offering unique architecture, monuments and culture. But, which has the highest population?

Centre for Cities have gathered information on the biggest cities in England, and ranked them based on population.

Centre for Cities focuses on primary urban areas (PUAs) - a definition created by the Department for Communities and Local Government as a statistical tool for analysing the major cities of England. It captures the built up footprint of a city based on areas of continuous built-up land containing urban structures that are within 50 metres of each other.

In 2021, there was a total of 59,597,500 people living in England and Wales and a majority of them lived in cities.

It won’t be a surprise to anyone that, in terms of population size, London is still by far the UK’s largest cities – it now exceeds the 10 million inhabitants threshold.

But for those living outside the hustle and bustle of the capital where do the rest of us live? According to the stats gathered by Centre for Cities, here are the top 10 cities by population in England and where Liverpool ranks.

Centre for Cities focuses on primary urban areas (PUAs) - a definition created by the Department for Communities and Local Government as a statistical tool for analysing the major cities of England. It captures the built up footprint of a city based on areas of continuous built-up land containing urban structures that are within 50 metres of each other.

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