UK postcode areas by population

All 121 UK postcode areas with their main town or city, ranked by resident population. Open any area for its report, or search a full postcode or outcode for the most local view available.

Most populous postcode areas

#	Postcode area	Approx. population
1	M Manchester	2,500,000
2	B Birmingham	2,400,000
3	E London (East)	1,500,000
4	L Liverpool	1,500,000
5	NE Newcastle upon Tyne	1,500,000
6	S Sheffield	1,400,000
7	G Glasgow	1,200,000
8	SW London (South West)	1,100,000
9	NG Nottingham	1,000,000
10	SE London (South East)	1,000,000
11	BS Bristol	990,000
12	N London (North)	940,000
13	CF Cardiff	900,000
14	CV Coventry	900,000
15	EH Edinburgh	900,000
16	LE Leicester	890,000
17	GU Guildford	850,000
18	PO Portsmouth	850,000
19	LS Leeds	830,000
20	BN Brighton	810,000
21	DN Doncaster	800,000
22	NW London (North West)	800,000
23	PE Peterborough	800,000
24	DE Derby	780,000
25	RG Reading	780,000
26	CM Chelmsford	720,000
27	SA Swansea	720,000
28	BH Bournemouth	700,000
29	KT Kingston upon Thames	690,000
30	SO Southampton	690,000
31	OX Oxford	680,000
32	NN Northampton	660,000
33	GL Gloucester	620,000
34	IP Ipswich	620,000
35	NR Norwich	620,000
36	ST Stoke-on-Trent	620,000
37	TN Tonbridge	620,000
38	ME Rochester	610,000
39	HP Hemel Hempstead	590,000
40	HU Kingston upon Hull	590,000
41	WA Warrington	590,000
42	CH Chester	570,000
43	PR Preston	570,000
44	SK Stockport	560,000
45	TS Middlesbrough	560,000
46	W London (West)	560,000
47	RM Romford	540,000
48	BD Bradford	530,000
49	AB Aberdeen	500,000
50	SS Southend-on-Sea	500,000
51	TW Twickenham	500,000
52	BB Blackburn	490,000
53	HA Harrow	490,000
54	WF Wakefield	490,000
55	PL Plymouth	480,000
56	RH Redhill	480,000
57	CB Cambridge	470,000
58	EX Exeter	470,000
59	LL Llandudno	470,000
60	WV Wolverhampton	470,000
61	YO York	470,000
62	DY Dudley	460,000
63	NP Newport	460,000
64	BA Bath	440,000
65	CT Canterbury	440,000
66	SN Swindon	440,000
67	EN Enfield	430,000
68	UB Uxbridge	430,000
69	DA Dartford	420,000
70	OL Oldham	420,000
71	WS Walsall	420,000
72	MK Milton Keynes	410,000
73	CO Colchester	400,000
74	CR Croydon	400,000
75	DH Durham	400,000
76	ML Motherwell	400,000
77	SL Slough	400,000
78	BL Bolton	380,000
79	IG Ilford	380,000
80	KA Kilmarnock	370,000
81	KY Kirkcaldy	360,000
82	LU Luton	360,000
83	WR Worcester	360,000
84	SG Stevenage	350,000
85	WD Watford	350,000
86	DL Darlington	340,000
87	FY Blackpool	340,000
88	PA Paisley	340,000
89	SY Shrewsbury	340,000
90	CA Carlisle	320,000
91	DD Dundee	320,000
92	LA Lancaster	320,000
93	LN Lincoln	320,000
94	SR Sunderland	320,000
95	TR Truro	320,000
96	WN Wigan	310,000
97	BR Bromley	300,000
98	CW Crewe	300,000
99	HD Huddersfield	290,000
100	TA Taunton	260,000
101	AL St Albans	250,000
102	TQ Torquay	250,000
103	FK Falkirk	240,000
104	IV Inverness	240,000
105	SP Salisbury	240,000
106	DT Dorchester	220,000
107	PH Perth	220,000
108	HX Halifax	200,000
109	SM Sutton	200,000
110	HR Hereford	190,000
111	TF Telford	180,000
112	HG Harrogate	160,000
113	DG Dumfries	150,000
114	TD Galashiels	120,000
115	LD Llandrindod Wells	55,000
116	KW Kirkwall	40,000
117	EC London (City)	30,000
118	WC London (Central)	30,000
119	HS Stornoway	27,000
120	ZE Lerwick	22,000

Populations are approximate census-era figures for the postcode area, used for ordering and context. Each row links to the report for the area's principal town.

All postcode areas A to Z

AB Aberdeen AL St Albans B Birmingham BA Bath BB Blackburn BD Bradford BH Bournemouth BL Bolton BN Brighton BR Bromley BS BristolBT Belfast (not covered)CA Carlisle CB Cambridge CF Cardiff CH Chester CM Chelmsford CO Colchester CR Croydon CT Canterbury CV Coventry CW Crewe DA Dartford DD Dundee DE Derby DG Dumfries DH Durham DL Darlington DN Doncaster DT Dorchester DY Dudley E London (East)EC London (City)EH Edinburgh EN Enfield EX Exeter FK Falkirk FY Blackpool G Glasgow GL Gloucester GU Guildford HA Harrow HD Huddersfield HG Harrogate HP Hemel Hempstead HR Hereford HS Stornoway HU Kingston upon Hull HX Halifax IG Ilford IP Ipswich IV Inverness KA Kilmarnock KT Kingston upon Thames KW Kirkwall KY Kirkcaldy L Liverpool LA Lancaster LD Llandrindod Wells LE Leicester LL Llandudno LN Lincoln LS Leeds LU Luton M Manchester ME Rochester MK Milton Keynes ML Motherwell N London (North)NE Newcastle upon Tyne NG Nottingham NN Northampton NP Newport NR Norwich NW London (North West)OL Oldham OX Oxford PA Paisley PE Peterborough PH Perth PL Plymouth PO Portsmouth PR Preston RG Reading RH Redhill RM Romford S Sheffield SA Swansea SE London (South East)SG Stevenage SK Stockport SL Slough SM Sutton SN Swindon SO Southampton SP Salisbury SR Sunderland SS Southend-on-Sea ST Stoke-on-Trent SW London (South West)SY Shrewsbury TA Taunton TD Galashiels TF Telford TN Tonbridge TQ Torquay TR Truro TS Middlesbrough TW Twickenham UB Uxbridge W London (West)WA Warrington WC London (Central)WD Watford WF Wakefield WN Wigan WR Worcester WS Walsall WV Wolverhampton YO York ZE Lerwick

Postcode areas (like DD or EH) are the broadest unit of the UK postcode system. Reports are most local when you search a full postcode or outcode - the directory links to each area's principal town.

About UK postcode areas

What is a UK postcode area?

A postcode area is the broadest unit of the UK postcode system, made up of one or two letters at the start of a postcode - such as DD for Dundee, EH for Edinburgh or M for Manchester. There are 121 geographic postcode areas across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

How many postcode areas are there in the UK?

There are 121 geographic postcode areas in the UK. TrackPostcode.UK covers all of those in England, Scotland and Wales; the BT area, which covers Northern Ireland, is not currently covered.

Which UK postcode area has the largest population?

Among the areas we cover, the largest by approximate resident population are Manchester (M, about 2.5 million), Birmingham (B, about 2.4 million) and London (East) (E, about 1.5 million). London is split across eight postcode areas (E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W and WC), so no single London area tops the list. The table on this page ranks all of them.

How do I get a report for my exact postcode?

Search your full postcode or outcode (for example DD1 4HN or DD1) in the search box. That returns the most local view available: weather, amenities and air quality for the exact point, crime too in England and Wales, and cost, housing and other statistics for the surrounding council area.

What is the difference between a postcode area, district and full postcode?

A postcode area is the letters only (DD). A district or outcode adds a number (DD1). A full postcode adds the inward code too (DD1 4HN) and covers just a handful of addresses. Reports are most local when you search a full postcode or outcode.