Wolverhampton population, 2001–2024
Wolverhampton has an estimated population of 281,251 (mid-2024), up 18.2% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Wolverhampton local authority area.
281,251
population, mid-2024
+18.2%
since 2001
+10.6%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (281,251)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 281,251 | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 275,601 | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 269,036 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 264,260 | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 263,123 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 263,519 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 262,474 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 260,648 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 258,305 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 256,127 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 254,351 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 252,358 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 251,444 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 249,852 | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 247,640 | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 246,016 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 245,349 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 243,910 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 242,889 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 241,647 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 240,567 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 239,851 | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 239,088 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 238,016 | — |
Food businesses
Wolverhampton has 282 takeaways, 399 restaurants and cafés and 206 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.71 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 10.0 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Wolverhampton has 205 hairdressers and beauty salons, 85 pubs and bars, 60 licensed restaurants, 190 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 Wolverhampton local authority area (code E08000031), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Wolverhampton?
281,251, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Wolverhampton 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 Wolverhampton growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 18.2% since 2001, from 238,016 to 281,251. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.