Chelmsford population, 2001–2024
Chelmsford has an estimated population of 188,803 (mid-2024), up 20.1% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Chelmsford local authority area.
188,803
population, mid-2024
+20.1%
since 2001
+9.7%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (188,803)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 188,803 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 186,060 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 183,471 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 181,827 | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 180,488 | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 179,882 | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 178,017 | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 177,102 | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 175,137 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 173,397 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 172,128 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 170,481 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 169,301 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 168,491 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 167,441 | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 166,208 | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 165,047 | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 164,381 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 163,879 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 163,570 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 162,505 | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 160,360 | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 158,686 | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 157,269 | — |
Food businesses
Chelmsford has 111 takeaways, 388 restaurants and cafés and 115 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 5.9 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Chelmsford has 130 hairdressers and beauty salons, 90 pubs and bars, 70 licensed restaurants, 75 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 Chelmsford local authority area (code E07000070), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Chelmsford?
188,803, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Chelmsford 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 Chelmsford growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 20.1% since 2001, from 157,269 to 188,803. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.