Bristol, City of population, 2001–2024
Bristol, City of has an estimated population of 494,399 (mid-2024), up 26.8% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Bristol, City of local authority area.
494,399
population, mid-2024
+26.8%
since 2001
+11.4%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (494,399)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 494,399 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 486,376 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 479,639 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 471,285 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 471,851 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 469,920 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 467,026 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 463,113 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 459,588 | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 451,790 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 443,834 | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 438,984 | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 433,264 | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 428,074 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 423,044 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 418,990 | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 414,822 | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 411,901 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 408,428 | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 405,407 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 395,743 | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 391,454 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 389,735 | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 390,049 | — |
Food businesses
Bristol, City of has 435 takeaways, 1,514 restaurants and cafés and 400 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.29 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 8.8 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Bristol, City of has 335 hairdressers and beauty salons, 220 pubs and bars, 335 licensed restaurants, 345 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 Bristol, City of local authority area (code E06000023), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Bristol, City of?
494,399, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Bristol, City of 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 Bristol, City of growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 26.8% since 2001, from 390,049 to 494,399. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.