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Whiston is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It is located 8 miles (10 km) east of Liverpool. The population was 13,629 in 2001, increasing to 14,263 in 2011.

Whiston was previously in Lancashire, but moved to Merseyside following the 1972 boundary change. The creation of a new village within the town, Halsnead Garden Village, was approved in 2017.It will host over 1,500 homes, a primary school, a park, and various community facilities. Construction is estimated to cost around £270 million.

The first record of Whiston comes in 1245, being rendered as "Quistan" and being within the West Derby Hundred in Lancashire. Archeological evidence such as a Neolithic polished hand-axe and mesolithic tool fragments suggest that the region was host to pre-historic settlement up to 12,000 years, ago while other archaeological finds include remnants of a Roman tile workshop in nearby Tarbock and a medieval shovel head.

The main industry of Whiston's earlier documented history is agriculture, with the first recorded mill in the area being held by local lord Henry Travers from 1190. By 1521, the first documentation of coal mining is made, which would in time become Whiston's primary industry. By 1700, the coalfields of Whiston, Prescot, and Sutton were producing 25,000-50,000 tonnes of coal annually, and this would only increase as the Industrial Revolution progressed and the Whiston area became host to tens of collieries over the 18th and 19th Centuries.[15] By 1901, the population of Whiston was 3,430.

The Church of St. Nicholas on Windy Arbor Road was consecrated on 30 July 1868, replacing a chapel dating from 1846. It hosts a war memorial, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, which was struck by lightning in 1928. The memorial was replaced in 1932. The stone-built Methodist Church on the High Street dates from the 19th century.

Following World War II, Liverpool faced a housing crisis due to extensive bomb damage and the poor conditions of many inner-city districts. To accommodate displaced families, large-scale developments were planned in surrounding areas, including Whiston, as part of a broader strategy to relocate thousands of residents to new, modern housing estates. This period saw a dramatic expansion of Whiston’s population as families from Liverpool moved into newly built council estates, bringing with them a strong cultural identity rooted in the city's working-class traditions.

The influx of Liverpool residents shaped Whiston’s social and cultural character, with many retaining strong ties to their former communities. Liverpool’s distinct sense of community, dialect, and traditions became deeply embedded in Whiston, influencing local life, from the way people spoke to the shared connection with Liverpool’s football culture, music scene, and working-class values. Despite being administratively separate from Liverpool, Whiston has remained culturally aligned with the city, with many residents continuing to work, shop, and socialise there.

Even as housing developments expanded and private homes were introduced in later decades, Whiston’s identity as a Liverpool overspill town has endured. Generations of families with Liverpool roots have remained in the area, reinforcing its connection to the city. Today, Whiston continues to serve as a residential hub for those seeking proximity to Liverpool while maintaining a local community that reflects its historical role in the city's post-war expansion.

Whiston had a sanatorium, an isolation hospital, and a workhouse, part of the Prescot Union workhouses.

Whiston was previously host to Halsnead Hall, a neoclassical manor that housed the Willis family, chief landholders in Whiston from 1684 until the auctioning of their estate in 1929.[11] Halsnead Hall, demolished in 1932 and now the site of Halsnead static caravan park, was designed by the renowned architect Sir John Soane.[18] Before its demolition, it was the sole example of Soane's work in either Lancashire or Cheshire.[18]