List of primary urban areas in England by population (2001 data)

The UK government introduced the concept of a primary urban area as a defining characteristic for substantial settlements, using the shorthand term 'city' for them, whether or not they had formal city status. In reality, a PUA may contain multiple settlements, even multiple cities. It should not be confused with 'urban areas' or 'built-up areas' that are more rigorously defined by the Office for National Statisticsor even city status.

Historically, the boundaries of cities within England and the United Kingdom as a whole have remained largely undefined, leading to difficulties in comparisons between them. However, a definitive list of cities in the United Kingdom, which in itself would constitute a type of definition known as an Extensional definition (specifically, an enumerative definition) does exist,Department of Constitutional Affairs webpage defining cities. Retrieval Date: 22 July 2007 though it does not define the limits of these cities. To allow such comparisons to be made the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, in conjunction with other Government departments, began compiling reports and a database to allow comparison of the English cities. This report is known as the State of the English Cities Report and was maintained by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Using this definition the term "city" is used as a primary urban area, which is distinct from the Office for National Statistics urban area agglomerations, with a total population in excess of 125,000. The population figures are based on the cumulative total population of the constituent wards. This list is not the same as the list of local authorities which have been granted city status and is intended to define the physical extent of the largest urban centres. These are available from the State of the Cities Database.

However, some controversy arose when using these terms, for example the Manchester PUA contains the City of Manchester and also includes that of the City of Salford which is a metropolitan borough and has held city status since 1926. The inclusion of the City of Wolverhampton and the Black Country in the Birmingham PUA also led to a meeting of the West Midlands group of MPs where their displeasure was made clear to David Miliband, then the minister in charge. This inclusion of Wolverhampton demonstrates differences between PUAs and the Eurostat equivalent, where Wolverhampton has its own larger urban zone.

RankPrimary urban areaPopulation(2001 census)Constituent local authoritiesState of the Cities Report; Part 2 LUZ nameLUZ sizeLUZ EU rank1London8,294,058Greater London, Epping Forest, Broxbourne, Dacorum, Three Rivers, Watford, Dartford, Gravesham, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Runnymede, Spelthorne and WokingLondon 12,208,10012Birmingham2,293,099Cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and SolihullBirmingham2,284,093213Manchester1,741,961Cities of Manchester and Salford; Metropolitan Boroughs of Tameside, Trafford, Bury, Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Wigan and StockportManchester2,732,854234Liverpool830,112Liverpool, Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley and Metropolitan Borough of St HelensLiverpool1,365,900415Leeds750,700LeedsLeeds1,499,465376Sheffield551,800Sheffield and RotherhamSheffield1,277,100467Teesside472,200Includes Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Teesn/an/an/a8Bristol428,234BristolBristol1,006,60064 9Bournemouth and Poole382,536Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poolen/an/an/a10Stoke-on-Trent360,810Includes the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgroven/an/an/a11Leicester329,600Leicester, Blaby and Oadby and WigstonLeicester887,0007512Wirral331,232Wirral, Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port and NestonLiverpool1,365,9004113Coventry350,900CoventryCoventry651,0009714Nottingham303,900NottinghamNottingham825,6008215Bradford293,717Metropolitan Borough of BradfordLeeds1,499,4653716Newcastle279,100Newcastle Upon TyneNewcastle Upon Tyne1,055,6005917Bolton277,300Metropolitan Borough of BoltonManchester2,732,8542318Brighton and Hove273,400Brighton and Hoven/an/an/a19Plymouth256,384Plymouthn/an/an/a20Hull256,100Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull573,30011321Preston252,209Includes the towns of Leyland and Chorleyn/an/an/a22Derby248,700DerbyNottingham825,6008223Aldershot and Farnborough248,208Includes the towns of Aldershot, Badshot Lea, Blackwater, Camberley, Deepcut, Farnborough, Farnham, Frimley, Sandhurst and Yateleyn/an/an/a24Southampton239,700Southamptonn/an/an/a25Wigan237,360Metropolitan Borough of Wigann/an/an/a26Barnsley211,807Metropolitan Borough of BarnsleyLeeds1,499,4653727Portsmouth205,400Includes the towns of Gosport, Waterlooville, Havant, Fareham and Portchestern/an/an/a28Luton203,600Luton & Dunstablen/an/an/a29York202,400Yorkn/an/an/a30Northampton200,092Northamptonn/an/an/a31Milton Keynes186,949Milton Keynesn/an/an/a32Worthing182,817Worthing, part of Adur, part of Arun. All the towns in the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation are split into two PUA's, Brighton and Worthingn/an/an/a33Ipswich180,000Includes the towns of Felixstowe and Woodbridgen/an/an/a34Crawley179,987Reigate and Banstead and Crawleyn/an/an/a35Sunderland177,739Sunderland, Tyne and WearNewcastle Upon Tyne1,055,6005936Southend-on-Sea174,300Southend-on-Sean/an/an/a37Rochdale166,932Metropolitan Borough of RochdaleManchester2,732,8542338Warrington215391 https://www.warrington.gov.uk/facts/Warrington North, Warrington SouthWarrington2153914139Mansfield158,496Ashfield and MansfieldNottingham825,6008240Swindon155,970Swindonn/an/an/a41Reading155,300Reading, Berkshiren/an/an/a42Blackburn147,700Blackburn with Darwenn/an/an/a43Burnley146,419Burnley and Pendlen/an/an/a44Huddersfield146,234KirkleesLeeds1,499,4653745Oxford145,095Oxfordn/an/an/a46Wakefield144,654WakefieldLeeds1,499,4653747Blackpool142,100Blackpooln/an/an/a48Norwich130,000Norwich & Broadlandsn/an/an/a49Grimsby139,458North East LincolnshireKingston upon Hull573,30011350Telford139,071Telford and Wrekinn/an/an/a51Peterborough136,963Peterboroughn/an/an/a52Gloucester135,845Gloucestern/an/an/a53Cambridge131,144Cambridgen/an/an/a54Doncaster127,851Doncastern/an/an/a55Hastings125,524Hastingsn/an/an/a

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