Bradford population, 2001–2024
Bradford has an estimated population of 563,605 (mid-2024), up 19.7% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Bradford local authority area.
563,605
population, mid-2024
+19.7%
since 2001
+6.0%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (563,605)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 563,605 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 559,071 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 551,522 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 546,839 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 547,141 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 545,966 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 542,542 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 540,447 | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 538,178 | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 534,919 | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 531,795 | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 528,712 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 525,522 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 523,115 | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 518,002 | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 512,392 | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 507,323 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 501,357 | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 495,658 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 491,361 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 484,650 | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 479,166 | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 475,184 | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 470,753 | — |
Food businesses
Bradford has 698 takeaways, 952 restaurants and cafés and 440 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.73 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 12.4 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Bradford has 345 hairdressers and beauty salons, 220 pubs and bars, 150 licensed restaurants, 475 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 Bradford local authority area (code E08000032), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Bradford?
563,605, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Bradford 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 Bradford growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 19.7% since 2001, from 470,753 to 563,605. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.