Cheshire West and Chester population, 2001–2024
Cheshire West and Chester has an estimated population of 371,652 (mid-2024), up 15.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Cheshire West and Chester local authority area.
371,652
population, mid-2024
+15.4%
since 2001
+10.5%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (371,652)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 371,652 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 366,665 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 362,076 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 357,730 | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 354,738 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 353,362 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 350,076 | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 346,040 | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 342,424 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 339,181 | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 336,437 | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 333,476 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 331,231 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 329,526 | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 329,553 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 329,116 | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 329,353 | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 329,364 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 328,358 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 327,169 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 325,496 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 324,378 | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 322,657 | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 322,154 | — |
Food businesses
Cheshire West and Chester has 305 takeaways, 727 restaurants and cafés and 215 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.42 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 8.2 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Cheshire West and Chester has 295 hairdressers and beauty salons, 205 pubs and bars, 140 licensed restaurants, 195 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 Cheshire West and Chester local authority area (code E06000050), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Cheshire West and Chester?
371,652, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Cheshire West and Chester 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 Cheshire West and Chester growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 15.4% since 2001, from 322,154 to 371,652. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.