St. Helens
§ This page gives an overview of the St. Helens local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. This is one of 361 LAD profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ St. Helens, in Merseyside, is a town known for its glassmaking heritage and industrial history. The town centre includes The World of Glass museum, showcasing its famous industry, while nearby parks and lakes provide green spaces. Villages and suburbs such as Rainhill, Newton-le-Willows, and Eccleston offer historic churches and residential character. The landscape is a mix of urban areas, reclaimed industrial land, and countryside, with the Sankey Valley and Carr Mill Dam providing natural retreats.
St. Helens Boundary Map
This map shows the official boundary of the St. Helens local authority district, based on the latest geographic data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides a clear view of the district’s extent and helps you understand how the area fits within the wider regional and national landscape.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The administrative boundary of St. Helens can also be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of St. Helens.
Key Facts about St. Helens
What region is St. Helens in? St. Helens is in the North West of England, a region within the UK.
What county is St. Helens in? St. Helens is located in the county of Merseyside.
Is St. Helens a city? No, St. Helens is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs St. Helens? The local government for this district is: St Helens Borough Council (Metropolitan District).
▶ Official website of St Helens Borough Council 🔗 sthelens.gov.uk
Which police force covers St. Helens? Policing in St. Helens is provided by Merseyside Police 🔗 merseyside.police.uk, which serves 5 local authority districts: Knowsley ⁞ Liverpool ⁞ Sefton ⁞ St. Helens ⁞ Wirral.
Constituencies in St. Helens
St. Helens is divided into 2 parliamentary constituencies, listed below in alphabetical order.
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in St. Helens
St. Helens is divided into 18 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Billinge & Seneley Green
- Blackbrook
- Bold & Lea Green
- Eccleston
- Haydock
- Moss Bank
- Newton-le-Willows East
- Newton-le-Willows West
- Parr
- Peasley Cross & Fingerpost
- Rainford
- Rainhill
- St Helens Town Centre
- Sutton North West
- Sutton South East
- Thatto Heath
- West Park
- Windle
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data. We have this list page for easy browsing of all electoral wards: List of all Electoral Wards in the UK.
Parishes in St. Helens
St. Helens is part-parished: 7 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 4 unparished areas.
- Billinge Chapel End
- Bold
- Eccleston
- Rainford
- Rainhill
- Seneley Green
- Windle
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
We have this list page for easy browsing of all parishes: List of Civil Parishes in England and Wales.
Post Towns in St. Helens
Below is a list of post towns in St. Helens, grouped by postcode area:
- WA ▸ Newton-le-Willows (WA12) ⁞ St. Helens (WA9 / WA10 / WA11)
The UK postal hierarchy begins with broad postcode areas (such as “CB” or “M”), which are divided into smaller postcode districts (such as “CB8” or “M1”) to support accurate mail routing. Each postal address is anchored by a designated post town, the official locality name used in the UK postcode system, which operates independently from Local Authority Districts —the administrative boundaries used for council tax and local government services. Because they serve different purposes, a property’s postal address and its local authority district do not always align exactly.
Built-up Areas in St. Helens
St. Helens covers 12 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Ashton-in-Makerfield *
- Billinge *
- Burtonwood *
- Golborne *
- Haydock
- Newton-le-Willows *
- Orrell *
- Prescot *
- Rainford
- St Helens (St. Helens) *
- Warrington *
- Widnes *
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of St. Helens.)
We have this list page for easy browsing of all built-up areas: List of all Built-up Areas in GB.
Railway Stations in St. Helens
St. Helens is served by a number of National Rail stations, providing rail connections to nearby towns, cities, and destinations across Great Britain. The railway stations listed below are located within the St. Helens Local Authority District and are grouped by train operating company for clarity.
- Northern Trains ▸ Newton-Le-Willows (WA12 9SF) ⁞ St Helens Central (WA10 1DQ) ⁞ Lea Green (WA9 3BZ) ⁞ Earlestown (WA12 9AU) ⁞ St Helens Junction (WA9 3LA) ⁞ Rainhill (L35 0LL) ⁞ Thatto Heath (WA9 5PE) ⁞ Garswood (WN4 0SA) ⁞ Eccleston Park (L35 7JS) ⁞ Rainford (WA11 8SJ)
This is a district-level view only. For a complete list of all National Rail stations across Great Britain, see the UK National Rail Stations Directory.
St. Helens compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how St. Helens compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
St. Helens has 18 electoral wards.
St. Helens has a population of 188,861 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
Population and Migration Trends in St. Helens
This chart shows the population trend for St. Helens from 2015 to 2024. It provides a quick overview of whether the local authority is growing, stable, or declining over time, and helps set context for the migration patterns shown below.
Population change is influenced by natural change (births minus deaths) and migration. The net migration chart below focuses on migration, separating internal migration (moves within the UK) from international migration (moves to and from abroad). Positive values indicate net inflows, while negative values indicate net outflows. The rate labels (per 1,000 residents) help compare migration intensity across years, even when the population size changes.
More local statistics and data for St. Helens can be found on the ONS statistics for St. Helens.