Central Bedfordshire population, 2001–2024
Central Bedfordshire has an estimated population of 315,877 (mid-2024), up 35.0% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Central Bedfordshire local authority area.
315,877
population, mid-2024
+35.0%
since 2001
+18.3%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (315,877)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 315,877 | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 309,382 | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 301,829 | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 295,651 | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 289,105 | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 284,688 | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 280,414 | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 277,655 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 274,909 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 270,962 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 267,066 | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 263,425 | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 259,524 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 255,644 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 252,460 | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 250,329 | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 249,035 | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 246,803 | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 244,351 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 242,062 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 240,444 | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 238,547 | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 236,297 | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 234,006 | — |
Food businesses
Central Bedfordshire has 193 takeaways, 389 restaurants and cafés and 189 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.50 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 6.1 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Central Bedfordshire has 215 hairdressers and beauty salons, 125 pubs and bars, 110 licensed restaurants, 155 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 Central Bedfordshire local authority area (code E06000056), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Central Bedfordshire?
315,877, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Central Bedfordshire 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 Central Bedfordshire growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 35.0% since 2001, from 234,006 to 315,877. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.