The Wigan Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...

 consisting of the built-up, or 'urbanised' area containing Wigan

Wigan

Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...

 in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

 and Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...

 in West Lancashire

West Lancashire

West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....

.

The Urban Area includes the integrated conurbation around Wigan, (containing the areas of Ince-in-Makerfield

Ince-in-Makerfield

Ince-in-Makerfield, usually known just as Ince is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.Ince is contiguous to Wigan and serves as a residential suburb of Wigan, Being divided locally by a train line into two separate areas - Higher Ince and Lower Ince,...

, Orrell

Orrell, Greater Manchester

Orrell is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The area is contiguous to the town of Wigan itself and the centre of the district is situated to the west of the town centre...

 and Wigan itself), along with the areas of Standish

Standish, Greater Manchester

Standish is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the A49 road between the towns of Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway....

, Abram

Abram, Greater Manchester

Abram is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat land on the northeast bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, west of Leigh, southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester...

 and the West Lancashire

West Lancashire

West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....

 town of Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...

.

The Wigan Urban Area has a total population of 166,840.

Constituent parts

The historic town of Wigan forms an integrated conurbation along with the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...

 districts of Orrell

Orrell, Greater Manchester

Orrell is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The area is contiguous to the town of Wigan itself and the centre of the district is situated to the west of the town centre...

 and Ince-in-Makerfield

Ince-in-Makerfield

Ince-in-Makerfield, usually known just as Ince is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.Ince is contiguous to Wigan and serves as a residential suburb of Wigan, Being divided locally by a train line into two separate areas - Higher Ince and Lower Ince,...

, this is connected by ribbon development to Standish

Standish, Greater Manchester

Standish is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the A49 road between the towns of Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway....

 and Abram

Abram, Greater Manchester

Abram is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat land on the northeast bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, west of Leigh, southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester...

. These areas, together with Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...

 in West Lancashire

West Lancashire

West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....

, are defined by the Office for National Statistics

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...

as the Wigan Urban Area.

Breakdown

The ONS figures were broken down into constituent parts, and an individual population figure given for each. These were:

Rank (2001)	Urban sub-area name	2001	1991	1981
1	Wigan	81,203	85,819	88,901
2	Skelmersdale	39,279	42,104	42,609
3	Standish	14,350	12,196	11,532
4	Orrell	11,212	12,251	12,600
5	Ince in Makerfield	10,941	10,554	11,013
6	Abram	9,855	11,482	12,423
	Total	166,840	174,406	179,078