At the
2021 UK census, the Metropolitan Borough of Bury had a total population of 193,846. The population density is . When the Census was taken there were 74,335 households in Bury with an average of 2.4 persons in each one. In more detail, 39.4% of households were married couples living together, 28.9% were one-person households, 8.7% were
co-habiting couples and 10.7% were lone parents. Of all the households 75.11% lived in houses they owned, with or without a mortgage, significantly higher than the national average of 68.07%. Of people aged 16–74 in Bury 42.93% were economically active in 2001, higher than the national average of 40.81%. 29.2% of this age group (16–74) had no
academic qualifications, slightly higher than 28.9% in all of England. 5.8% of Bury's residents were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 4% of the population.
Population and employment change The historical population table details the population change since 1801, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the Metropolitan Borough of Bury has only existed since 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and
civil parishes that would later be constituent parts of the borough. In 1971 34,980 people living in Bury were employed in manufacturing. By 2001 this had fallen to 13,690 – a decrease of 61%. During the same period the numbers of people employed in service industries increased from 34,200 to 54,227, a gain of 58.5%.
Religion At the 2021 UK census, 48.8% of people in Bury stated they were
Christian. 29.4% of people stated they had no religion, 9.9% following the
Muslim and 5.5% the
Jewish faiths. The Jewish community in Prestwich and Whitefield is the second largest in the country. Bury is covered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, and the
Anglican Diocese of Manchester. There are four Grade I listed churches in Bury. The
Church of All Saints, at Stand in
Whitefield, was built in 1826. The
Parish Church of St Mary, Radcliffe, is a 14th-century church with a 15th-century tower. The
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Prestwich, is a 15th-century church. The current
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury, was built in 1876 by J. S. Crowther. Of the nine Grade II* listed buildings in Bury, two are churches: Christ Church,
Walshaw and the Presbyterian Chapel in
Ainsworth. There are around SIX
Mosques in Bury, including one of the oldest Islamic seminaries in the United Kingdom,
Darul Uloom Bury, which was established in 1979 in
Holcombe. The original Jewish immigrant community in Manchester was based in the inner city. As in other cities the community gradually moved outward geographically and upward economically from its roots establishing itself in the more leafy suburbs of
Crumpsall and
Broughton Park as well as the town of
Prestwich. Later, a second migration of young families in the mid-1960s sought pastures even further away from these traditional areas settling in
Whitefield, Sunny Bank and
Unsworth. There are now about 10 synagogues in the borough. ==Politics and services==