Greater Manchester is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It covers 1,276 km2 (493 sq mi) and had 2,869,531 residents at the 2021 census. Only Greater London and the West Midlands hold more people. Manchester is the largest city.
Ten metropolitan boroughs run local services: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority handles transport, planning and health across all ten, led by a directly elected mayor.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | North West England |
| Area | 1,276 km2 (493 sq mi) |
| Population (2021 census) | 2,869,531 |
| Density | About 2,250 people per km2 |
| Largest settlement | Manchester |
| Boroughs | Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan |
| Created | 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 |
| Highest point | Black Chew Head, 542 m (1,778 ft) |
| Postcode areas | M, BL, OL, SK, WA, WN and part of BB |
Towns and Villages in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester holds 787 named towns, villages and districts on record. The list below gives 284 of them, grouped by the ten metropolitan boroughs and alphabetical within each group.
Bolton (30 of 82 listed)
- Astley Bridge
- Blackrod
- Bolton
- Bradshaw
- Brownlow Fold
- Chew Moor
- Cox Green
- Daubhill
- Dobb Brow
- Dunscar
- Egerton
- Farnworth
- Gilnow
- Hart Common
- Horwich
- Hosker’s Nook
- Johnson Fold
- Kearsley
- Little Lever
- Little Scotland
- Lostock
- Mill Hill
- New Bury
- Over Hulton
- Ringley Fold
- Sharples
- Springfield
- Top o’ th’ Brow
- Wallsuches
- Westhoughton
Bury (26 of 76 listed)
- Affetside
- Bank Lane
- Black Lane
- Bottom o’ the Moor
- Burrs
- Bury
- Chapel Field
- Elton
- Fletcher Bank
- Greenmount
- Higher Woodhill
- Kirkhams
- Nangreaves
- Outwood Gate
- Pimhole
- Prestwich
- Radcliffe
- Ramsbottom
- Redvales
- Simister
- Stand
- Tanners
- Tottington
- Unsworth
- Whitefield
- Woodgate Hill
Manchester (32 of 52 listed)
- Ancoats
- Ardwick
- Barlow Moor
- Blackley
- Bradford
- Burnage
- Castlefield
- Cheetham Hill
- Chorlton cum Hardy
- Chorlton upon Medlock
- Crumpsall
- Didsbury
- East Didsbury
- Fallowfield
- Green Quarter
- Higher Blackley
- Hulme
- Ladybarn
- Longsight
- Manchester
- Manchester City Centre
- Miles Platting
- Moss Side
- Newall Green
- Noma
- Northenden
- Openshaw
- Roundthorn
- Sharston
- Strangeways
- West Gorton
- Withington
Oldham (30 of 151 listed)
- Acre
- Bleak Hey Nook
- Butler Green
- Chadderton
- Copster Hill
- Delph
- Denshaw
- Diggle
- Dobcross
- Failsworth
- Fenny Hill
- Grasscroft
- Harrop Green
- Higher Barrowshaw
- Hollinwood
- Lees
- Leesbrook
- Luzley Brook
- Mumps
- North Moor
- Oldham
- Roundthorn
- Royton
- Saddleworth
- Shaw
- Sholver
- Summit
- Top o’ th’ Meadows
- Uppermill
- Waterside
Rochdale (26 of 95 listed)
- Alkrington Garden Village
- Bamford
- Bowlee
- Buersil Head
- Caldershaw
- Clover Hall
- Dearnley
- Great Howarth
- Haugh
- Heywood
- Hollins
- Howarth Cross
- Little Clegg
- Littleborough
- Lydgate
- Middleton
- Milnrow
- Mitchell Hey
- Passmonds
- Rakewood
- Rochdale
- Smithy Bridge
- Stanycliffe
- Syke
- Top of Hebers
- Wardle
Salford (26 of 50 listed)
- Barton upon Irwell
- Brindle Heath
- Broughton
- Charlestown
- Clifton Green
- Eccles
- Ellenbrook
- Greenheys
- Higher Broughton
- Irlam
- Irlams o’ th’ Height
- Kersal Dale
- Little Bolton
- Little Hulton
- Monton
- New Windsor
- Ordsall
- Patricroft
- Pendlebury
- Salford
- Seedley
- Street Gate
- Swinton
- Walkden
- Wallness
- Weaste
Stockport (30 of 63 listed)
- Adswood
- Bramhall
- Bramhall Green
- Bredbury
- Brinnington
- Cale Green
- Cheadle Heath
- Cheadle Hulme
- Compstall
- Edgeley
- Gillbent
- Hatherlow
- Hazel Grove
- Heaton Chapel
- Heaton Mersey
- Heaton Norris
- Hollywood End
- Lancashire Hill
- Lower Bredbury
- Marple
- Mellor
- Moorend
- Offerton
- Reddish
- Shaw Heath
- Stepping Hill
- Stockport
- Strines
- Torkington
- Woodford
Tameside (28 of 77 listed)
- Alt Hill
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Bottoms
- Brook Bottom
- Castle Hall
- Copley
- Denton
- Droylsden
- Dukinfield
- Fox Platt
- Hartshead Green
- Haughton Green
- Higher Hurst
- Hollingworth
- Hooley Hill
- Hurst Nook
- Hyde
- Longdendale
- Lower Roe Cross
- Micklehurst
- Mossley
- Mottram Rise
- Quick
- Roe Cross
- Smallshaw
- Stalybridge
- Sun Green
- Waterloo
Trafford (26 of 34 listed)
- Altrincham
- Ashley Heath
- Ashton upon Mersey
- Bowdon
- Broadheath
- Calder Bank
- Davenport Green
- Davyhulme
- Dunham Town
- Dunham Woodhouses
- Gorse Hill
- Hale
- Hale Barns
- Mossbrow
- Old Trafford
- Partington
- Rosehill
- Sale
- Sinderland Green
- Stretford
- Timperley
- Trafford Centre
- Urmston
- Warburton
- Well Green
- Wharfside
Wigan (30 of 107 listed)
- Abram
- Ashton Heath
- Atherton
- Bamfurlong
- Bickershaw
- Brownlow
- Crankwood
- Firs Lane
- Golborne
- Haigh
- Highfield
- Hindley
- Howe Bridge
- Ince-in-Makerfield
- Land Gate
- Leigh
- Longshaw
- Lowton St Mary’s
- Mosley Common
- North Ashton
- Pennington Green
- Poolstock
- Shakerley
- Shevington
- Spring View
- Tamer Lane End
- Tyldesley
- Wallgate
- Whitley
- Wigan
Geography
The county borders Lancashire to the north, West Yorkshire to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Cheshire to the south and Merseyside to the west.
Pennine moorland wraps the north and east. It takes in the West Pennine Moors above Bolton, the South Pennines above Rochdale and Oldham, and the Peak District edge beyond Stockport. Black Chew Head in Saddleworth, at 542 m, is the highest ground.
The centre and south-west are lowland, floored by the Mersey basin and the mosslands around Chat Moss. The rivers Irwell, Tame, Goyt, Medlock and Roch all rise in the Pennines and feed the Mersey. The Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894, still runs 36 miles from Eastham on the Mersey estuary to Salford Quays.
Demographics
At the 2021 census Manchester was the largest borough with 550,630 residents, ahead of Wigan at 329,796, Bolton at 296,169, Stockport at 295,268 and Salford at 270,866. Bury was the smallest at 193,866.
Almost the whole county is built up. The Greater Manchester built-up area is the second most populous in the United Kingdom and spills over the boundary into Cheshire and Lancashire.
Manchester and Salford have young populations, driven by around 100,000 students at the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford. Oldham, Rochdale and Bolton have large South Asian heritage communities, established when the mills recruited labour in the 1950s and 1960s.
Economy and Local Life
Cotton built these towns and has entirely gone. Services now dominate: finance and law in central Manchester, and media at MediaCityUK in Salford, where the BBC and ITV have large operations. A digital and games sector has grown alongside them.
Trafford Park, laid out in 1897, was the world’s first planned industrial estate and still holds heavy engineering, logistics and food production. Health and higher education are among the biggest single employers in the county.
Sport is a large part of local identity and the visitor economy. Manchester United play at Old Trafford, Manchester City at the Etihad, and Lancashire County Cricket Club at Old Trafford too. Market days survive at Bury, whose open market is known for black pudding, and at Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton and Wigan.
History
The Romans built Mamucium at Castlefield around AD 79. The towns stayed small until the eighteenth century. Fast Pennine streams, damp air, local coal and the port of Liverpool then made this the centre of the cotton trade.
By 1835 Manchester was described as the first and greatest industrial city in the world, and it was the world’s largest marketplace for cotton goods. The Bridgewater Canal of 1761 and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830 were both firsts of their kind.
At Peterloo in 1819 cavalry charged a reform meeting at St Peter’s Field, killing at least 18 people. The outcry pushed the campaign for parliamentary reform forward. The county itself was created on 1 April 1974 from parts of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. The combined authority followed in 2011 and the elected mayoralty in 2017.
Getting There
The M60 orbital motorway rings the conurbation. The M62 crosses it from Liverpool to Leeds and the M6 passes to the west. The M61, M56, M66 and M67 feed in from Preston, Chester, Bury and Hyde.
Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station, with direct trains to London Euston in about two hours, plus Victoria, Oxford Road and Deansgate. Bolton, Stockport and Wigan North Western are the other principal stops; Wigan sits on the West Coast Main Line.
Metrolink, the UK’s largest light rail network, runs eight lines and around 99 stops from Altrincham and Manchester Airport to Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Eccles. Manchester Airport is the busiest UK airport outside London, with its own railway station.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Greater Manchester?
2,869,531 at the 2021 census across the ten boroughs. Manchester itself had 550,630.
What are the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester?
Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
How many towns and villages are in Greater Manchester?
Gazetteers record about 787 named towns, villages and districts. Most are now part of one continuous built-up area.
When was Greater Manchester created?
On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from parts of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Is Manchester in Lancashire?
Not since 1974. Manchester was historically in Lancashire and Stockport historically in Cheshire, but both are now in Greater Manchester.
What are the postcodes for Greater Manchester?
M covers Manchester and Salford, BL Bolton and Bury, OL Oldham and Rochdale, SK Stockport and Tameside, WN Wigan, and WA Warrington-facing areas in the south-west.