# List of primary urban areas in England by population

The 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 Statistics – or 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, 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.
| Rank | Primary urban area | Population (2001 census) | Constituent local authorities | LUZ name | LUZ size | LUZ EU rank |
| 1 | London | 8,294,058 | Greater London, Epping Forest, Broxbourne, Dacorum, Three Rivers, Watford, Dartford, Gravesham, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Runnymede, Spelthorne and Woking | London | 12,208,100 | 1 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 2,293,099 | Cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Solihull | Birmingham | 2,284,093 | 21 |
| 3 | Manchester | 1,741,961 | Cities of Manchester and Salford; Metropolitan Boroughs of Tameside, Trafford, Bury, Oldham Bolton Rochdale Wigan and Stockport | Manchester | 2,732,854 | 23 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 830,112 | Liverpool, Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley and Metropolitan Borough of St Helens | Liverpool | 1,365,900 | 41 |
| 5 | Leeds | 750,700 | Leeds | Leeds | 1,499,465 | 37 |
| 6 | Sheffield | 551,800 | Sheffield and Rotherham | Sheffield | 1,277,100 | 46 |
| 7 | Teesside | 472,200 | Includes Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 8 | Bristol | 428,234 | Bristol | Bristol | 1,006,600 | 64 |
| 9 | Bournemouth and Poole | 382,536 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 10 | Stoke-on-Trent | 360,810 | Includes the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 11 | Leicester | 329,600 | Leicester, Blaby and Oadby and Wigston | Leicester | 887,000 | 75 |
| 12 | Wirral | 331,232 | Wirral, Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port and Neston | Liverpool | 1,365,900 | 41 |
| 13 | Coventry | 316,900 | Coventry | Coventry | 651,000 | 97 |
| 14 | Nottingham | 303,900 | Nottingham | Nottingham | 825,600 | 82 |
| 15 | Bradford | 293,717 | Metropolitan Borough of Bradford | Leeds | 1,499,465 | 37 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 279,100 | Newcastle Upon Tyne | Newcastle Upon Tyne | 1,055,600 | 59 |
| 17 | Bolton | 277,300 | Metropolitan Borough of Bolton | Manchester | 2,732,854 | 23 |
| 18 | Brighton and Hove | 273,400 | Brighton and Hove | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 19 | Plymouth | 256,384 | Plymouth | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 20 | Hull | 256,100 | Kingston upon Hull | Kingston upon Hull | 573,300 | 113 |
| 21 | Preston | 252,209 | Includes the towns of Leyland and Chorley | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 22 | Derby | 248,700 | Derby | Nottingham | 825,600 | 82 |
| 23 | Aldershot and Farnborough | 248,208 | Includes the towns of Aldershot, Badshot Lea, Blackwater, Camberley, Deepcut, Farnborough, Farnham, Frimley, Sandhurst and Yateley | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 24 | Southampton | 239,700 | Southampton | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 25 | Wigan | 237,360 | Metropolitan Borough of Wigan | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 26 | Barnsley | 211,807 | Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley | Leeds | 1,499,465 | 37 |
| 27 | Portsmouth | 205,400 | Includes the towns of Gosport, Waterlooville, Havant, Fareham and Portchester | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 28 | Luton | 203,600 | Luton & Dunstable | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 29 | York | 202,400 | York | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 30 | Northampton | 200,092 | Northampton | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 31 | Milton Keynes | 186,949 | Milton Keynes | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 32 | Worthing | 182,817 | Worthing, part of Adur, part of Arun. All the towns in the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation are split into two PUA's, Brighton and Worthing | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 33 | Ipswich | 180,000 | Includes the towns of Felixstowe and Woodbridge | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 34 | Crawley | 179,987 | Reigate and Banstead and Crawley | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 35 | Sunderland | 177,739 | Sunderland, Tyne and Wear | Newcastle Upon Tyne | 1,055,600 | 59 |
| 36 | Southend-on-Sea | 174,300 | Southend-on-Sea | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 37 | Rochdale | 166,932 | Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale | Manchester | 2,732,854 | 23 |
| 38 | Warrington | 163,479 | Includes the town of Great Sankey | Chester | 1,365,900 | 41 |
| 39 | Mansfield | 158,496 | Ashfield and Mansfield | Nottingham | 825,600 | 82 |
| 40 | Swindon | 155,970 | Swindon | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 41 | Reading | 155,300 | Reading, Berkshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 42 | Blackburn | 147,700 | Blackburn with Darwen | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 43 | Burnley | 146,419 | Burnley and Pendle | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 44 | Huddersfield | 146,234 | Kirklees | Leeds | 1,499,465 | 37 |
| 45 | Oxford | 145,095 | Oxford | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 46 | Wakefield | 144,654 | Wakefield | Leeds | 1,499,465 | 37 |
| 47 | Blackpool | 142,100 | Blackpool | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 48 | Norwich | 140,100 | Norwich & Broadlands | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 49 | Grimsby | 139,458 | North East Lincolnshire | Kingston upon Hull | 573,300 | 113 |
| 50 | Telford | 139,071 | Telford and Wrekin | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 51 | Peterborough | 136,963 | Peterborough | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 52 | Gloucester | 135,845 | Gloucester | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 53 | Cambridge | 131,144 | Cambridge | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 54 | Doncaster | 127,851 | Doncaster | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 55 | Hastings | 125,524 | Hastings | n/a | n/a | n/a |