Guildford population, 2001–2024
Guildford has an estimated population of 151,359 (mid-2024), up 16.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Guildford local authority area.
151,359
population, mid-2024
+16.6%
since 2001
+8.3%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (151,359)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 151,359 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 149,094 | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 146,232 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 144,013 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 142,732 | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 142,328 | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 142,384 | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 143,294 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 142,891 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 141,577 | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 139,706 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 138,627 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 137,893 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 137,580 | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 135,547 | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 133,584 | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 132,401 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 131,656 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 130,673 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 129,043 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 128,575 | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 128,763 | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 129,297 | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 129,774 | — |
Food businesses
Guildford has 79 takeaways, 266 restaurants and cafés and 112 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.30 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 5.2 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Guildford has 90 hairdressers and beauty salons, 50 pubs and bars, 60 licensed restaurants, 55 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 Guildford local authority area (code E07000209), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Guildford?
151,359, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Guildford 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 Guildford growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 16.6% since 2001, from 129,774 to 151,359. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.