Map
Locations of largest built-up areas:
Over 1 million 
500,000–999,999 
250,000–499,999 
150,000–249,999 
100,000–149,999
Over 1 million 
500,000–999,999 
250,000–499,999 
150,000–249,999 
100,000–149,999This is a list of the most populous urban areas in the United Kingdom based on the 2011 census, as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The methodology used by ONS in 2011 is set out in 2011 Built-up Areas – Methodology and Guidance, published in June 2013. When ONS reported the results of the 2011 UK census, it used the term "built-up area" rather than the term "urban area" as used in previous censuses. ONS states, however, that the criteria used to define "built-up area" have not changed:
the definition follows a ‘bricks and mortar’ approach, with areas defined as built-up land with a minimum area of 20 hectares (200,000 m2), while settlements within 200 metres of each other are linked. Built-up area sub-divisions are also identified to provide greater detail in the data, especially in the larger conurbations. [1]
In reporting the 2001 census, the ONS gave a clearer definition of the term "built-up" as follows:
This comprises permanent structures and the land on which they are situated, including land enclosed by or closely associated with such structures; transportation corridors such as roads, railways and canals which have built up land on one or both sides, or which link built-up sites which are less than 200 metres apart; transportation features such as airports and operational airfields, railway yards, motorway service areas and car parks; mine buildings, excluding mineral workings and quarries; and any area completely surrounded by builtup sites. Areas such as playing fields and golf courses are excluded unless completely surrounded by builtup sites... [2]
The list below shows the most populated urban areas in the United Kingdom as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but as readily referenced at Citypopulation.de. The list includes all urban areas with a population in excess of 100,000 at the 2011 census. [3]
Over 1 million 500,000–999,999 250,000–499,999 150,000–249,999 100,000–149,999
The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation in the West Midlands region of England. The area consists of two cities and numerous towns: to the east, the city of Birmingham, along with adjacent towns of Solihull and Sutton Coldfield; and to the west, the city of Wolverhampton and the area called the Black Country, containing the towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Oldbury, Willenhall, Bilston, Darlaston, Tipton, Smethwick, Wednesbury, Rowley Regis, Stourbridge and Halesowen.
The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder of Buckinghamshire.
The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and places from which it is practicable to commute to work in London. It is also known as the London commuter belt, or Southeast metropolitan area.
Woburn Sands is a town that straddles the border between Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in England, and is part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The larger part of the town is in Woburn Sands civil parish, which is in the City of Milton Keynes, Smaller parts of the town are in the neighbouring parishes of Aspley Guise and Aspley Heath. The meandering boundary between Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire means the Lower and Middle Schools that serve all of the town are both in Aspley Guise CP. Bedfordshire Police and Thames Valley Police both deal with law enforcement issues in the town. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish (only) was 2,916, that of the built-up area was 5,959. Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise and Aspley Heath each has its own centre but together the three settlements are a contiguous built-up area.
The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres. It consists of the city of Nottingham and the adjoining urban areas of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, in the East Midlands of England. It had a total population of 729,977 at the time of the 2011 census. This was an increase of almost 10% since the 2001 census recorded population of 666,358, due to population increases, reductions and several new sub-divisions.
The Greater Manchester Built-up Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the urban element of the city of Manchester and the metropolitan area that forms much of Greater Manchester in North West England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area has a population of 2,553,379 making it the second most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom after the Greater London Built-up Area. This was an increase of 14% from the population recorded at the United Kingdom Census 2001 of 2,240,230, when it was known as the Greater Manchester Urban Area.
Greater Bristol is a term used for the conurbation which contains and surrounds the city of Bristol in the South West of England. There is no official "Greater Bristol" authority, but the term is sometimes used by local, regional and national authorities, and others as a synonym for either the "Bristol Urban Area" or a wider area of the former County of Avon, and by some, TfGB, to refer to the Province of Bristol as defined by C. B. Fawcett (1919) or Derek Senior (1969).
The Liverpool Built-up Area is a term used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to denote the urban area around Liverpool in England, to the east of the River Mersey. The contiguous built-up area extends beyond the area administered by Liverpool City Council into adjoining local authority areas, particularly parts of Sefton and Knowsley. As defined by ONS, the area extends as far east as St Helens, Haydock, and Ashton-in-Makerfield in Greater Manchester.
The Greater London Built-up Area, or Greater London Urban Area, is a conurbation in south-east England that constitutes the continuous urban sprawl of London, and includes surrounding adjacent urban towns as defined by the Office for National Statistics. It is the largest urban area in the United Kingdom with a population of 9,787,426 in 2011.
The Leicester Urban Area or Leicester Built Up Area is an urban agglomeration defined by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), centred on the City of Leicester in the East Midlands, England. With a population of 559,017 at the time of the 2021 census, increased from 508,916 at the time of the 2011 census, the Built Up Area is the eleventh largest in England and thirteenth largest in the United Kingdom. It comprises Leicester itself and its suburbs, all of which are contiguous with or situated in close proximity to the city.
The New Towns Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to found new settlements or to expand substantially existing ones, to establish Development Corporations to deliver them, and to create a Commission to wind up the Corporations and take over their assets and liabilities. Of these, the more substantive acts were the New Towns Act 1946 and the Town Development Act 1952. "The New Towns Act [1946] was intended to pre-emptively direct urban growth and infrastructural development into new towns, thereby decentralising population and economic opportunity while inhibiting urban sprawl."
The Coventry/Bedworth Urban Area or Coventry Built-up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 359,252 at the 2011 census, which made it the 16th largest conurbation in England and Wales by population. It is also one of the most densely populated. In the 2021 census the population of the urban area was recorded at 389,603.
The Milton Keynes urban area or Milton Keynes Built-up Area is a designation established by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics. Milton Keynes has no statutory boundary: the 1967 designated area only determined the area assigned to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation for development. The wider urban area outside that designation includes Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands as well as Aspley Guise (Bedfordshire) and part of Stoke Hammond civil parish.
The Newport Built-up area is an area of land defined by the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS) for population monitoring purposes. It is an urban conurbation and is not coterminous with the city boundaries. It consists of the urban area centred on Newport as well as contiguous settlements in the eastern and western valleys extending north of the city – including Cwmbran, Pontypool, Risca, Abercarn and Blackwood. It does however exclude physically detached urban areas within the city boundaries, such as Marshfield.
The Wrexham Built-up area is an area of land defined by the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS) for population monitoring purposes. It is an urban conurbation fully within Wrexham County Borough and consists of the urban area centred on the city of Wrexham. Until the 2021 census, it also included the historically industrial settlements to the west including Gwersyllt, Rhostyllen, Brymbo, Bradley and New Broughton.
