Barnsley population, 2001–2024
Barnsley has an estimated population of 251,770 (mid-2024), up 15.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Barnsley local authority area.
251,770
population, mid-2024
+15.4%
since 2001
+6.5%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (251,770)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 251,770 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 249,144 | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 246,737 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 244,887 | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 244,201 | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 243,558 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 242,360 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 241,287 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 240,061 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 238,242 | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 236,421 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 234,875 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 233,259 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 231,865 | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 230,066 | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 228,973 | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 227,754 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 225,989 | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 224,419 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 222,618 | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 221,227 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 220,165 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 218,851 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 218,124 | — |
Food businesses
Barnsley has 269 takeaways, 275 restaurants and cafés and 292 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.98 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 10.7 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Barnsley has 170 hairdressers and beauty salons, 125 pubs and bars, 60 licensed restaurants, 165 takeaways on the ONS business register (2025). Compare across the UK.
Rounded to the nearest 5, which is how ONS protects individual businesses from being identified.
Figures are ONS mid-year population estimates for the Barnsley local authority area (code E08000016), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Barnsley?
251,770, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Barnsley local authority area. This page charts the full annual series back to 2001, so the figure sits in its twenty-year context rather than alone.
Is Barnsley growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 15.4% since 2001, from 218,124 to 251,770. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.