City of Preston, Lancashire

City of Preston
City of Preston
City & Non-metropolitan district
	Preston
	Miller Park in Preston
	Coat of Arms of the City Council
	Motto: Prince of Peace (Princeps Pacis)
	Shown within Lancashire and England
	City of Preston Shown within England
	Coordinates: 53°45′N 2°42′W / 53.750°N 2.700°W
Country	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	North West England
County	Lancashire
Guild Merchant charter	1179
City status	2002
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district
• Local Authority	Preston City Council
• Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
• MPs:	Mark Hendrick (Lab),; Maya Ellis (Lab)
Area
• City & Non-metropolitan district	55 sq mi (142 km2)
Highest elevation	873 ft (266 m)
Lowest elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2022)
• City & Non-metropolitan district	151,582 (Ranked 144th)
• Density	2,760/sq mi (1,065/km2)
• Urban	365,000 (Central Lancashire)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 72.6% White ; 20.2% Asian ; 3% Mixed ; 2.4% Black ; 1.9% other ;
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 47.6% Christianity ; 26.3% no religion ; 5.4% not stated ; 16.1% Islam ; 3% Hinduism ; 0.7% Sikhism ; 0.4% other ; 0.3% Buddhism ; 0.1% Judaism ;
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Postcode	PR1–PR4
Area code(s)	01772, 01995
ISO 3166-2	GB-LAN
ONS code	30UK (ONS); E07000123 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SD535295
Demonym	Prestonian

The City of Preston, or simply Preston (/ˈprɛstən/ ^ⓘ), is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a population of 151,582 (2022). The neighbouring districts are Ribble Valley, South Ribble, Fylde and Wyre.

The district is named after its largest settlement, Preston, which lies in the south of the district. The district also includes rural areas to the north of the main urban area, including part of the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In 2002 the district was granted city status to mark the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II; prior to this it was known as the Borough of Preston, having held borough status since its creation in 1974.