Stafford
§ This page gives an overview of the Stafford local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire, lies on the River Sow, with a historic centre featuring Stafford Castle, ancient churches, and Victorian architecture. The town is surrounded by parks, riverside walks, and countryside. The wider district includes villages, farmland, and parts of Cannock Chase AONB, offering trails and scenic landscapes. Market towns and rural communities blend with the county town’s cultural and commercial character, creating a district that mixes heritage, rivers, and open countryside.
The administrative boundary of Stafford can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Stafford.
Key Facts about Stafford
What region is Stafford in? Stafford is in the West Midlands of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Stafford in? Stafford is located in the county of Staffordshire.
Is Stafford a city? No, Stafford is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Stafford? The local authority for this district is: Stafford Borough Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Staffordshire is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Staffordshire County Council.
▶ Official website of Stafford Borough Council 🔗 staffordbc.gov.uk
Which police force covers Stafford? Policing in Stafford is provided by Staffordshire Police 🔗 staffordshire.police.uk, which serves 9 local authority districts: Cannock Chase ⁞ East Staffordshire ⁞ Lichfield ⁞ Newcastle-under-Lyme ⁞ South Staffordshire ⁞ Stafford ⁞ Staffordshire Moorlands ⁞ Stoke-on-Trent ⁞ Tamworth.
Stafford in International Geographies
In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Stafford is within one of ITLs Level 2 area, Shropshire and Staffordshire, that contains the following 4 ITLs Level 3 areas:
(ITL 1) West Midlands
(ITL 2) ⇒ Shropshire and Staffordshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Telford and Wrekin ⁞ Shropshire ⁞ Stoke-on-Trent ⁞ Staffordshire CC
The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.
Constituencies in Stafford
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 Stafford
Stafford is divided into 23 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Barlaston
- Baswich
- Common
- Coton
- Doxey & Castletown
- Eccleshall
- Forebridge
- Fulford
- Gnosall & Woodseaves
- Haywood & Hixon
- Highfields & Western Downs
- Holmcroft
- Littleworth
- Manor
- Milford
- Milwich
- Penkside
- Rowley
- Seighford & Church Eaton
- St Michael's & Stonefield
- Swynnerton & Oulton
- Walton
- Weeping Cross & Wildwood
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.
Parishes in Stafford
Stafford is part-parished: 40 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 2 unparished areas.
- Adbaston
- Barlaston
- Berkswich
- Bradley
- Brocton
- Chebsey
- Church Eaton
- Colwich
- Creswell
- Doxey
- Eccleshall
- Ellenhall
- Forton
- Fradswell
- Fulford
- Gayton
- Gnosall
- Haughton
- High Offley
- Hilderstone
- Hixon
- Hopton and Coton
- Hyde Lea
- Ingestre
- Marston
- Milwich
- Norbury
- Ranton
- Salt and Enson
- Sandon and Burston
- Seighford
- Standon
- Stone
- Stone Rural
- Stowe-by-Chartley
- Swynnerton
- Tixall
- Weston
- Whitgreave
- Yarnfield and Cold Meece
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.
Built-up Areas in Stafford
Stafford covers 33 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Barlaston
- Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook *
- Bradley (Stafford)
- Brocton
- Cold Norton (Stafford)
- Coldmeece
- Croxton
- Derrington
- Eccleshall
- Ellenhall
- Fulford
- Gnosall
- Great Bridgeford
- Great Haywood
- Haughton
- Hilderstone
- Hixon
- Hyde Lea and Coppenhall *
- Little Haywood
- Loggerheads *
- Milford (Stafford)
- Moreton (Stafford)
- Newcastle-under-Lyme *
- Oulton
- Rugeley *
- Stafford *
- Stoke-on-Trent *
- Stone (Stafford)
- Swynnerton
- Tittensor
- Weston (Stafford)
- Woodseaves
- Yarnfield
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 Stafford.)
Stafford compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Stafford compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Stafford has 23 electoral wards.
Stafford has a population of 141,556 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Stafford can be found on the ONS statistics for Stafford.