Bolton population, 2001–2024
Bolton has an estimated population of 310,085 (mid-2024), up 18.7% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Bolton local authority area.
310,085
population, mid-2024
+18.7%
since 2001
+9.5%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (310,085)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 310,085 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 305,575 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 299,957 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 296,169 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 295,712 | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 294,888 | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 291,594 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 289,684 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 287,253 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 284,972 | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 283,212 | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 281,629 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 279,738 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 277,296 | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 275,168 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 273,049 | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 270,497 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 268,319 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 266,816 | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 265,016 | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 264,511 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 263,814 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 262,367 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 261,302 | — |
Food businesses
Bolton has 360 takeaways, 507 restaurants and cafés and 173 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.71 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 11.6 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Bolton has 250 hairdressers and beauty salons, 115 pubs and bars, 70 licensed restaurants, 275 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 Bolton local authority area (code E08000001), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Bolton?
310,085, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Bolton 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 Bolton growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 18.7% since 2001, from 261,302 to 310,085. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.