Wigan population, 2001–2024
Wigan has an estimated population of 344,922 (mid-2024), up 14.4% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Wigan local authority area.
344,922
population, mid-2024
+14.4%
since 2001
+7.8%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (344,922)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 344,922 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 340,208 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 334,675 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 329,796 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 327,850 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 326,386 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 323,904 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 322,485 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 321,494 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 320,864 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 320,075 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 318,737 | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 318,109 | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 318,122 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 316,296 | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 314,363 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 311,971 | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 309,403 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 308,023 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 306,143 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 304,958 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 303,846 | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 302,305 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 301,453 | — |
Food businesses
Wigan has 369 takeaways, 922 restaurants and cafés and 225 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.40 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 10.7 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Wigan has 255 hairdressers and beauty salons, 165 pubs and bars, 75 licensed restaurants, 250 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 Wigan local authority area (code E08000010), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Wigan?
344,922, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Wigan 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 Wigan growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 14.4% since 2001, from 301,453 to 344,922. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.