Cherwell population, 2001–2024
Cherwell has an estimated population of 170,426 (mid-2024), up 29.1% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Cherwell local authority area.
170,426
population, mid-2024
+29.1%
since 2001
+16.2%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (170,426)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 170,426 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 167,480 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 164,356 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 161,830 | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 158,435 | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 156,447 | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 154,367 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 152,329 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 150,819 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 148,630 | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 146,636 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 145,185 | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 143,519 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 142,252 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 141,337 | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 140,301 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 139,440 | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 138,120 | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 137,159 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 135,876 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 134,947 | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 133,977 | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 132,586 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 131,988 | — |
Food businesses
Cherwell has 117 takeaways, 282 restaurants and cafés and 68 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.41 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 6.9 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Cherwell has 115 hairdressers and beauty salons, 75 pubs and bars, 65 licensed restaurants, 90 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 Cherwell local authority area (code E07000177), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Cherwell?
170,426, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Cherwell 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 Cherwell growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 29.1% since 2001, from 131,988 to 170,426. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.