Bedford population, 2001–2024
Bedford has an estimated population of 194,976 (mid-2024), up 31.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Bedford local authority area.
194,976
population, mid-2024
+31.6%
since 2001
+16.9%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (194,976)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 194,976 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 191,575 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 187,624 | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 185,796 | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 182,346 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 180,651 | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 178,288 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 175,537 | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 173,703 | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 170,149 | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 166,856 | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 163,672 | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 160,344 | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 157,840 | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 156,535 | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 154,808 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 154,164 | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 153,107 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 152,346 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 151,747 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 151,308 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 150,684 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 149,589 | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 148,113 | — |
Food businesses
Bedford has 137 takeaways, 313 restaurants and cafés and 129 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.44 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 7.0 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Bedford has 130 hairdressers and beauty salons, 60 pubs and bars, 70 licensed restaurants, 120 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 Bedford local authority area (code E06000055), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Bedford?
194,976, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Bedford 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 Bedford growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 31.6% since 2001, from 148,113 to 194,976. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.