More people living in Bradford now than a decade ago

Estimates of the population size in every England and Wales local authority area were published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), along with a breakdown by age and sex.

The census takes place every 10 years, with every household in the UK required to take part.

The latest snapshot of England and Wales was captured on March 21 2021.

Bradford's population has increased from 522,452 in 2011 to 546,400 last year, a jump of 4.6 per cent.

This also means the population density has grown to 1,491 usual residents per square kilometre, up from 1,426 in 2011.

If you go back forty years the population in the district has grown by more than 100,000 from 454,198 in 1981.

The census shows the balance of men and women in the area has changed – Bradford’s population is now 49 per cent male and 51 per cent female, meaning there is now a higher proportion of women in the area than 10 years ago.

In 2011, people living in Bradford were 49.2 per cent male and 50.8 per cent female.

It also shows the area is ageing – a decade ago the population was made up of 15.1 per cent under-10s and 13.3 per cent over-65s, but this had changed to 13.9 per cent and 15.2 per cent respectively by 2021.

The population in Leeds has also increased in the last decade

Meanwhile, neighbours Leeds and Wakefield were two of the biggest growers in Yorkshire.

The former now has over 800,000 living in the city following an 8.1 per cent increase.

More than 350,000 currently reside in Wakefield after their population rose 8.4 per cent from 2011.

In Yorkshire and The Humber, the population rose to 5,480,800 from 5,283,733 in 2011, a 3.7 per cent increase.

Back in 1981, 4,810,474 people were living in the region, showing an increase of 670,326 in the forty-year period.

Below is a full breakdown of each local authority's population in the region (middle) compared (percentage difference, right) to what it was in 2011 (left).

Yorkshire & the Humber
Barnsley 231,221 244,600 5.8%
Bradford 522,452 546,400 4.6%
Calderdale 203,826 206,600 1.4%
Craven 55,409 56,900 2.7%
Doncaster 302,402 308,100 1.9%
East Riding of Yorkshire 334,179 342,200 2.4%
Hambleton 89,140 90,700 1.8%
Harrogate 157,869 162,700 3.1%
Kingston upon Hull, City of 256,406 267,100 4.2%
Kirklees 422,458 433,300 2.6%
Leeds 751,485 812,000 8.1%
North East Lincolnshire 159,616 156,900 -1.7%
North Lincolnshire 167,446 169,700 1.3%
Richmondshire 51,965 49,700 -4.4%
Rotherham 257,280 265,800 3.3%
Ryedale 51,751 54,700 5.7%
Scarborough 108,793 108,800 0.0%
Selby 83,449 92,000 10.2%
Sheffield 552,698 556,500 0.7%
Wakefield 325,837 353,300 8.4%
York 198,051 202,800 2.4%

Across England and Wales, the total population grew 6.3% over the past decade, from 56,075,912 in 2011 to 59,597,300 last year.

There were 24.8 million households in England and Wales on census day 2021, up from 23.4 million in 2011, with an average of 2.4 people in each household – the same as in 2011.

The census is crucial for the UK’s statisticians to understand how our population is changing and plays a vital role in how our public services and government operate.