Watford population, 2001–2024
Watford has an estimated population of 107,171 (mid-2024), up 33.3% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Watford local authority area.
107,171
population, mid-2024
+33.3%
since 2001
+9.2%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (107,171)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 107,171 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 105,261 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 103,038 | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 102,507 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 102,322 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 102,172 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 101,658 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 100,957 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 100,458 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 99,449 | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 98,101 | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 95,732 | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 93,066 | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 90,653 | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 88,574 | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 86,472 | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 84,776 | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 82,899 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 82,145 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 82,138 | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 81,097 | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 80,644 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 80,185 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 80,398 | — |
Food businesses
Watford has 78 takeaways, 229 restaurants and cafés and 45 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.34 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 7.3 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Watford has 85 hairdressers and beauty salons, 25 pubs and bars, 50 licensed restaurants, 80 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 Watford local authority area (code E07000103), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Watford?
107,171, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Watford 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 Watford growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 33.3% since 2001, from 80,398 to 107,171. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.