Preston population, 2001–2024
Preston has an estimated population of 162,864 (mid-2024), up 24.9% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Preston local authority area.
162,864
population, mid-2024
+24.9%
since 2001
+16.2%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (162,864)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 162,864 | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 158,317 | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 152,550 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 147,786 | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 145,912 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 144,624 | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 142,417 | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 141,734 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 140,468 | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 140,615 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 140,158 | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 140,302 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 140,216 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 140,054 | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 138,831 | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 137,956 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 138,443 | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 138,470 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 137,784 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 136,200 | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 134,410 | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 132,685 | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 131,110 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 130,372 | — |
Food businesses
Preston has 215 takeaways, 323 restaurants and cafés and 124 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.67 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 13.2 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Preston has 95 hairdressers and beauty salons, 65 pubs and bars, 40 licensed restaurants, 150 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 Preston local authority area (code E07000123), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Preston?
162,864, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Preston 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 Preston growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 24.9% since 2001, from 130,372 to 162,864. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.