Rochdale population, 2001–2024
Rochdale has an estimated population of 235,561 (mid-2024), up 14.1% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Rochdale local authority area.
235,561
population, mid-2024
+14.1%
since 2001
+10.4%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (235,561)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 235,561 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 231,217 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 227,715 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 224,127 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 223,024 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 222,042 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 219,969 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 218,492 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 216,251 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 214,560 | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 213,462 | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 212,503 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 212,345 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 211,929 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 210,758 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 210,248 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 209,666 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 208,393 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 207,845 | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 207,200 | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 207,286 | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 207,528 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 206,697 | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 206,440 | — |
Food businesses
Rochdale has 327 takeaways, 241 restaurants and cafés and 181 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 1.36 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 13.9 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Rochdale has 170 hairdressers and beauty salons, 80 pubs and bars, 50 licensed restaurants, 215 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 Rochdale local authority area (code E08000005), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Rochdale?
235,561, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Rochdale 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 Rochdale growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 14.1% since 2001, from 206,440 to 235,561. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.