Lancaster (/ˈlæŋkæstər/),^[2][3] or the City of Lancaster, is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, and also includes the towns of Carnforth, Heysham and Morecambe and a wider rural hinterland. The district has a population of 142,162 (2021),^[4] and an area of 218.9 square miles (566.9 km²).^[5]

Much of the district's rural area is recognised for its natural beauty; it includes part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and parts of the designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of Arnside and Silverdale and the Forest of Bowland. The neighbouring districts are Westmorland and Furness, North Yorkshire, Ribble Valley and Wyre.

The town of Lancaster was an ancient borough, with its earliest known charter dating from 1193. A later charter in 1337 gave it the right to appoint a mayor.^[6] It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Lancaster", but generally known as the corporation or town council.^[7] In 1937 the borough was awarded city status.^[8]

The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the territory of five former districts which were abolished at the same time:^[9][10]

• Carnforth Urban District
• Lancaster Municipal Borough
• Lancaster Rural District
• Lunesdale Rural District
• Morecambe and Heysham Municipal Borough

The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Lancaster's series of mayors dating back to 1337.^[11] The city status which had been held by the old municipal borough of Lancaster since 1937 was also transferred to the new district on its creation.^[12][13]

Since 1 August 2016 the district has included a small part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.^[14]

Lancaster City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the district is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[19]

In the part of the district within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. The city council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 25-person National Park Authority.^[20]

At the 2011 UK census, the City of Lancaster had a total population of 138,375. Of the 57,822 households in the city, 33.5% were married couples living together, 31.9% were one-person households, 7.8% were co-habiting couples and 10.0% were lone parents.^[32] These figures were similar to the national averages.

The population density was 233/km² (600/sq mi) and for every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. Of those aged 16–74 in Lancaster, 26.7% had no academic qualifications, lower than 28.9% in all of England. The city of Lancaster had a higher proportion of white people than England.^[32][33]

At the United Kingdom Census 2001, the City of Lancaster had 97,365 residents aged 16 to 74. Of these people, 4.0% were students with jobs, 9.6% students without jobs, 5.1% looking after home or family, 6.0% permanently sick or disabled and 2.8% economically inactive for other reasons.^[38]

In 2001, of the 55,906 residents of the City of Lancaster in employment, the industry of employment was 16.7% retail and wholesale, 14.2% health and social work, 11.4% education, 11.2% manufacturing, 7.8% property and business services, 6.7% construction, 6.7% hotels and restaurants, 6.5% transport and communications, 5.7% public administration and defence, 2.5% finance, 2.4% energy and water supply, 2.2% agriculture, 0.4% mining, and 5.3% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, although the proportion of jobs in agriculture which was more than the national average of 1.5% and the percentage of people working in finance was below the national average of 4.8%; the proportion of people working in property was well below the national average of 13.2%.^[40]

The area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada with television signals received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter and the Lancaster relay transmitter. ^[41]

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Lancashire on 104.5 FM
• BBC Radio Cumbria can also be received on 96.1 FM
• Heart North West on 96.9 FM
• Smooth North West on 100.4 FM
• Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire on 96.5 FM
• Beyond Radio is a voluntary, non-profit community radio station for Lancaster and Morecambe that broadcasts on 103.5 FM, 107.5 FM and online.^[42]

^[44]

• Perpignan, France (since 1962)
• Rendsburg, Germany (since 1968)
• Aalborg, Denmark (since 1982)
• Lublin, Poland (since 1994)
• Växjö, Sweden (since 1996)