Milton Keynes population, 2001–2024
Milton Keynes has an estimated population of 305,884 (mid-2024), up 43.8% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Milton Keynes local authority area.
305,884
population, mid-2024
+43.8%
since 2001
+15.5%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (305,884)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 305,884 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 300,173 | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 292,584 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 288,312 | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 283,707 | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 281,434 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 278,892 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 276,588 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 274,231 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 269,783 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 264,948 | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 259,672 | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 254,003 | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 249,895 | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 245,450 | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 240,178 | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 235,625 | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 231,033 | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 227,225 | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 223,462 | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 219,521 | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 217,597 | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 215,061 | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 212,707 | — |
Food businesses
Milton Keynes has 283 takeaways, 542 restaurants and cafés and 116 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.52 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 9.3 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Milton Keynes has 205 hairdressers and beauty salons, 60 pubs and bars, 120 licensed restaurants, 170 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 Milton Keynes local authority area (code E06000042), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Milton Keynes?
305,884, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Milton Keynes 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 Milton Keynes growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 43.8% since 2001, from 212,707 to 305,884. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.