Ipswich population, 2001–2024
Ipswich has an estimated population of 140,274 (mid-2024), up 19.7% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Ipswich local authority area.
140,274
population, mid-2024
+19.7%
since 2001
+1.6%
last 10 years
2017
peak year (141,922)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 140,274 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 139,497 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 139,331 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 139,638 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 139,889 | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 140,809 | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 141,643 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 141,922 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 141,245 | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 139,694 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 138,108 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 136,760 | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 135,694 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 133,729 | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 131,729 | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 129,320 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 127,387 | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 125,471 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 124,753 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 124,028 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 121,175 | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 119,210 | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 117,818 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 117,156 | — |
Food businesses
Ipswich has 127 takeaways, 275 restaurants and cafés and 69 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.46 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 9.1 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Ipswich has 125 hairdressers and beauty salons, 45 pubs and bars, 65 licensed restaurants, 100 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 Ipswich local authority area (code E07000202), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Ipswich?
140,274, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Ipswich 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 Ipswich growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 19.7% since 2001, from 117,156 to 140,274. The peak year in the series so far is 2017. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.