Largest Cities and Towns by Population in the United Kingdom

205 cities and towns in the United Kingdom with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by population estimates for June 30, 2024 (by UK National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency).

Rank	City or Town	Population
1	London	9,065,696
2	Birmingham	1,161,326
3	Glasgow	646,700
4	Leeds	564,705
5	Liverpool	529,561
6	Sheffield	526,005
7	Edinburgh	508,500
8	Manchester	506,453
9	Belfastincl. Newtownabbey, Dundonald, Newtownbreda	458,970
10	Bristol	444,562
11	Leicester	429,848
12	Cardiff	368,065
13	Coventry	364,878
14	Bradford	347,767
15	Nottingham	307,075
16	Newcastle upon Tyne	304,542
17	Derby	291,538
18	Brighton and Hove	283,870
19	Kingston upon Hull (Hull)	279,237
20	Plymouth	274,607
21	Stoke-on-Trent	272,409
22	Southampton	260,184
23	Northampton	253,499
24	Wolverhampton	248,702
25	Luton	247,684
26	Portsmouth	230,389
27	Reading	213,496
28	Milton Keynes	210,396
29	Norwich	206,467
30	Bournemouth	202,552
31	Aberdeen	198,800
32	Peterborough	198,243
33	Bolton	194,197
34	Swindon	191,392
35	Southend-on-Sea	186,848
36	Swansea	180,863
37	Warrington	179,065
38	Sunderland	178,842
39	Slough	175,821
40	Oxford	174,953
41	Kingswood/ Fishponds	166,748
42	Telford	165,095
43	Middlesbrough	160,220
44	Cambridge	157,697
45	Blackpool	153,244
46	Ipswich	152,481
47	Huddersfield	149,473
48	York	148,331
49	Dundee	148,100
50	Poole	143,418
51	Newport	138,615
52	Watford	138,007
53	Colchester	136,773
54	Exeter	133,312
55	Blackburn	131,790
56	Crawley	127,331
57	Salford	127,065
58	Gloucester	124,566
59	Basingstoke	123,409
60	Stockport	122,016
61	Basildon	120,808
62	Gateshead	119,893
63	Cheltenham	118,619
64	Maidstone	116,887
65	Rochdale	116,602
66	Oldham	116,362
67	Chelmsford	115,807
68	Birkenhead	114,545
69	Gillingham	114,176
70	Worthing	114,161
71	Solihull	111,658
72	St Helens	111,323
73	Worcester	108,745
74	West Bromwich	107,514
75	Lincoln	106,102
76	Wakefield	104,088
77	Eastbourne	102,575
78	Bedford	101,450
79	Hemel Hempstead	100,893
80	Wythenshawe	100,588
81	Preston	100,502
82	Harlow	98,523
83	Bath	98,161
84	Stevenage	96,844
85	Darlington	96,723
86	Chester	96,599
87	Southport	96,394
88	Nuneaton	94,354
89	Aylesbury	94,187
90	Sutton Coldfield (Royal Sutton Coldfield)	93,515
91	Doncaster	92,949
92	Hartlepool	92,703
93	Hastings	91,746
94	Halifax	91,710
95	Stockton-on-Tees	89,818
96	High Wycombe	89,329
97	Grimsby	87,485
98	Wallasey	87,335
99	Weston-super-Mare	86,820
100	Ashford	86,646
101	Derry/Londonderry	86,390
102	Wigan	83,978
103	Rugby	83,564
104	Bury	83,221
105	Burnley	82,594
106	Scunthorpe	82,551
107	Redditch	82,502
108	Guildford	82,118
109	Paisley	81,800
110	Carlisle	81,781
111	Bracknell	81,656
112	Burton upon Trent	81,605
113	Crewe	79,978
114	Newcastle-under-Lyme	79,601
115	Chatham	79,529
116	Shrewsbury	79,264
117	Tamworth	78,400
118	Chesterfield	78,301
119	East Kilbride	78,200
120	Harrogate	77,313
121	Woking	77,056
122	St Albans	77,027
123	Walsall	76,153
124	Craigavonincl. Lurgan, Portadown	75,140
125	Rotherham	75,115
126	Stafford	75,051
127	South Shields	74,784
128	Barnsley	73,872
129	Dartford	73,162
130	Lowestoft	71,992
131	Gosport	71,006
132	Corby	70,950
133	Maidenhead	70,635
134	Rochester	69,968
135	Bognor Regis	69,849
136	Ellesmere Port	68,417
137	Paignton	68,334
138	Dudley	67,599
139	Kettering	66,644
140	Loughborough	66,373
141	Mansfield	65,960
142	Dewsbury	65,783
143	Cannock	65,259
144	Bangor	64,490
145	Taunton	64,181
146	Sale	63,972
147	Margate	63,505
148	Runcorn	63,139
149	Farnborough	63,123
150	Huyton with Roby	63,020
151	Tynemouth	62,187
152	Hereford	61,428
153	Halesowen	61,156
154	Widnes	61,042
155	Scarborough	60,892
156	Gravesend	60,250
157	Bebington	59,063
158	Smethwick	58,694
159	Kidderminster	58,550
160	Barry (Barri)	58,388
161	Stourbridge	57,759
162	Canterbury	57,511
163	Sittingbourne	57,446
164	Livingston	57,200
165	Brentwood	57,013
166	Dunfermline	57,000
167	Hamilton	56,800
168	Banbury	56,457
169	Weymouth	56,384
170	Macclesfield	56,351
171	Wellingborough	56,295
172	Barrow-in-Furness	55,778
173	Bootle	55,742
174	Clacton-on-Sea	55,568
175	Carlton	54,627
176	Beeston	54,542
177	Bloxwich	54,368
178	Lancaster	53,902
179	Folkestone	53,744
180	Wokingham	53,334
181	Bridgend	53,296
182	Kingswinford	52,944
183	Royal Tunbridge Wells	52,781
184	Welwyn Garden City	52,709
185	Torquay	52,266
186	Lisburn	52,110
187	Durham	52,050
188	Royal Leamington Spa	51,906
189	Kirkcaldy	51,900
190	Washington	51,783
191	Yeovil	51,778
192	Hinckley	51,648
193	Horsham	51,541
194	Willenhall	51,492
195	Crosby	51,344
196	Winchester	51,078
197	Andover	50,888
198	Eastleigh	50,838
199	Altrincham	50,606
200	Thundersley/ South Benfleet	50,563
201	Ashton-under-Lyne	50,529
202	Cumbernauld	50,500
203	Bridgwater	50,349
204	Keighley	50,302
205	Middleton	50,141

Source: UK National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (2024 estimate), via City Population by Thomas Brinkhoff.

Why don't these match official city populations?Official figures typically count only the population within administrative boundaries. UN urban area figures cover the entire built-up area, which can include multiple cities and towns.Show moreShow less

Tokyo

33,338,852

Urban area

9,953,160

23 wards

Essen

2,709,375

Urban area

573,618

City of Essen

Ankara

3,630,865

Urban area

5,186,002

Metropolitan municipality

What counts as an urban area? The UN uses satellite imagery to map built-up land, and treats each continuous stretch of built-up land as an urban area. This means that urban areas can extend beyond official city boundaries, and may include multiple cities and towns within a single urban area.

Can an urban area be smaller than its city? Yes. While most cities have urban areas larger than their administrative boundaries, some cities have extensive administrative limits that include sparsely populated areas.

150 urban areas in the United Kingdom with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by the UN's population estimates for 2026.

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2026)	Yearly Change	Land Area (km²)	Density (P/km²)	World Rank	Projections (2030)	Projections (2050)
1	London	10,486,502	+0.67%	1,648	6,362	33	10,766,831	11,868,905
2	Birmingham	2,643,320	+0.44%	672	3,936	191	2,689,574	2,810,468
3	Manchester	2,541,887	+0.25%	742	3,428	198	2,567,727	2,638,194
4	Liverpool	1,230,203	+0.22%	369	3,332	422	1,241,135	1,254,523
5	Leeds	1,069,849	+0.40%	324	3,302	481	1,086,815	1,109,261
6	Glasgow	972,041	+0.18%	297	3,273	539	978,925	987,250
7	Newcastle upon Tyne	762,907	+0.25%	229	3,331	704	770,661	784,878
8	Nottingham	651,144	+0.24%	175	3,721	836	657,280	670,317
9	Bristol	617,050	+0.22%	133	4,639	884	622,438	635,268
10	Sheffield	553,114	+0.62%	155	3,573	1,000	566,791	583,953
11	Leicester	532,476	+0.42%	127	4,193	1,049	541,323	572,700
12	Edinburgh	522,664	+0.17%	131	3,990	1,066	526,182	530,590
13	Portsmouth	495,029	+1.34%	160	3,098	1,131	521,607	558,084
14	Brighton	473,759	+1.23%	109	4,338	1,187	497,046	561,457
15	Belfast	445,064	+0.71%	142	3,130	1,260	457,621	541,746
16	Coventry	429,576	+0.44%	99	4,339	1,318	437,170	456,537
17	Cardiff	391,786	+0.28%	111	3,530	1,466	396,162	405,702
18	Bournemouth	388,680	+0.55%	113	3,428	1,476	397,171	415,498
19	Middlesbrough	350,184	+0.21%	113	3,099	1,651	353,177	358,064
20	Southampton	348,930	+0.43%	86	4,057	1,657	354,865	409,569
21	Stoke-on-Trent	333,322	+0.23%	112	2,976	1,742	336,440	341,503
22	Hull	323,068	+0.30%	96	3,358	1,791	326,941	334,408
23	Wakefield	308,459	+0.58%	109	2,830	1,890	315,560	322,171
24	Southend-on-Sea	282,474	+0.82%	82	3,436	2,074	291,740	373,216
25	Reading	276,174	+0.56%	73	3,773	2,125	282,340	340,857
26	Luton	274,626	+0.39%	59	4,655	2,144	278,954	293,001
27	Derby	271,826	+0.24%	82	3,315	2,172	274,449	281,245
28	Gillingham	261,010	+0.99%	67	3,873	2,266	271,363	306,176
29	Plymouth	258,219	+0.36%	77	3,336	2,292	261,973	269,226
30	Northampton	225,174	+0.97%	63	3,586	2,643	233,906	250,082
31	Milton Keynes	213,277	+0.96%	74	2,890	2,811	221,449	272,952
32	Walton-on-Thames	207,970	+1.11%	78	2,666	2,905	217,199	234,159
33	Farnham	203,378	+0.51%	72	2,825	2,973	207,496	218,957
34	Blackpool	200,099	+3.27%	61	3,270	3,025	226,251	230,016
35	Norwich	198,613	+1.33%	56	3,547	3,049	209,190	238,029
36	Swindon	196,544	+0.37%	51	3,854	3,083	199,440	209,756
37	Aberdeen	189,598	+0.35%	55	3,435	3,215	192,284	194,337
38	Preston	183,766	+0.22%	54	3,403	3,316	185,384	187,443
39	Sunderland	183,402	+0.24%	63	2,911	3,324	185,144	188,313
40	Peterborough	181,366	+1.75%	56	3,262	3,361	194,094	203,371
41	Ipswich	177,083	+0.89%	45	3,918	3,459	183,400	208,469
42	Oxford	173,629	+0.69%	46	3,758	3,530	178,403	188,541
43	Slough	168,099	+0.36%	38	4,424	3,638	170,529	178,232
44	Dundee	160,798	+0.72%	63	2,552	3,808	165,398	167,603
45	Huddersfield	159,821	+0.29%	50	3,196	3,832	161,690	198,490
46	Warrington	152,488	+0.18%	48	3,177	4,030	153,609	157,679
47	York	151,032	+0.50%	37	4,038	4,069	154,065	159,673
48	Blackburn	145,716	+0.22%	42	3,469	4,235	146,974	150,409
49	Cambridge	142,459	+1.07%	33	4,291	4,326	148,549	186,057
50	Swansea	141,871	+0.32%	46	3,084	4,341	143,677	167,750
51	Burnley	141,632	+0.45%	46	3,066	4,350	144,179	147,604
52	Gloucester	140,484	+0.58%	40	3,495	4,389	143,754	158,276
53	Telford	138,298	+0.48%	54	2,561	4,459	140,940	152,003
54	Margate	136,468	+2.66%	53	2,556	4,512	151,009	171,301
55	Colchester	135,538	+1.06%	44	3,066	4,548	141,309	162,871
56	Grimsby	128,757	+0.25%	47	2,740	4,813	130,025	132,269
57	Polegate	125,610	+0.88%	38	3,306	4,936	130,032	154,901
58	Cheltenham	119,808	+0.43%	32	3,744	5,192	121,849	126,954
59	Newport	119,552	+0.28%	40	2,989	5,203	120,913	144,047
60	Lincoln	117,039	+0.25%	39	3,001	5,325	118,229	121,755
61	Barnsley	115,391	+0.30%	48	2,404	5,405	116,765	119,152
62	Torquay	114,024	+0.29%	46	2,479	5,476	115,362	119,875
63	High Wycombe	113,985	+1.75%	38	2,984	5,477	121,975	129,109
64	Wigan	112,560	+0.42%	37	3,026	5,549	114,452	146,051
65	Chelmsford	111,514	+1.02%	30	3,693	5,602	116,085	129,025
66	Basingstoke	111,024	+0.46%	33	3,364	5,623	113,086	127,102
67	Crawley	110,913	+0.74%	27	4,108	5,631	114,209	133,413
68	Maidstone	110,091	+0.70%	29	3,796	5,681	113,176	123,776
69	Wishaw	110,082	+0.46%	45	2,435	5,684	112,094	113,221
70	Bedford	110,080	+0.38%	29	3,796	5,686	111,734	123,381
71	Exeter	109,476	+0.24%	26	4,211	5,715	110,527	115,787
72	Elland	109,104	+0.29%	36	3,031	5,733	110,370	115,358
73	Basildon	107,927	+0.94%	26	4,119	5,792	111,965	130,580
74	Grays	107,290	+0.74%	33	3,251	5,829	110,478	129,159
75	Northfleet	106,765	+0.69%	27	3,954	5,854	109,729	124,418
76	Worcester	105,160	+0.78%	30	3,459	5,951	108,446	113,340
77	Doncaster	103,235	+0.55%	37	2,775	6,072	105,485	107,336
78	Stevenage	97,810	+1.43%	27	3,677	6,397	103,394	121,462
79	Hastings	97,310	+0.97%	28	3,475	6,435	101,088	177,346
80	Warwick	96,959	+0.76%	28	3,438	6,457	99,921	104,698
81	Hemel Hempstead	93,023	+0.75%	26	3,551	6,742	95,797	105,835
82	Chesterfield	91,451	+0.25%	34	2,690	6,864	92,365	93,804
83	Coatbridge	90,530	+0.15%	29	3,122	6,944	91,063	94,897
84	St Albans	90,437	+0.58%	28	3,230	6,947	92,525	100,967
85	Mansfield	90,046	+0.26%	30	3,002	6,976	91,000	95,396
86	Darlington	88,813	+0.17%	24	3,701	7,084	89,428	90,229
87	Cannock	88,804	+0.46%	32	2,775	7,085	90,433	94,659
88	Bath	85,984	+0.31%	22	3,908	7,328	87,046	89,348
89	Hartlepool	85,897	+1.10%	32	2,701	7,336	89,678	91,035
90	Nuneaton	84,986	+0.46%	26	3,269	7,433	86,555	90,409
91	Hoyland	83,684	+0.28%	35	2,391	7,540	84,618	87,727
92	Weston-super-Mare	83,460	+0.60%	30	2,745	7,564	85,469	87,205
93	Chester	83,174	+0.21%	27	3,081	7,597	83,882	86,232
94	Eastleigh	82,831	+0.46%	27	3,068	7,630	84,352	88,604
95	Rotherham	81,085	+0.28%	27	2,981	7,783	81,981	86,263
96	Harlow	81,012	+2.00%	21	3,933	7,786	87,502	95,864
97	Scunthorpe	80,830	+0.16%	25	3,233	7,809	81,363	82,161
98	Southport	80,280	+0.16%	33	2,433	7,865	80,778	81,414
99	Redditch	80,224	+0.50%	27	2,971	7,871	81,836	86,217
100	Fazeley	79,850	+0.46%	25	3,194	7,919	81,308	86,318
101	Ashford	79,576	+0.84%	26	3,061	7,942	82,241	93,213
102	Chester-le-Street	77,804	+0.23%	26	2,992	8,132	78,534	136,899
103	Bracknell	77,016	+2.95%	23	3,320	8,211	86,115	93,580
104	Rugby	75,607	+0.42%	24	3,150	8,338	76,880	81,593
105	Lowestoft	75,133	+0.82%	28	2,683	8,392	77,605	85,414
106	Shrewsbury	75,055	+0.51%	28	2,681	8,401	76,600	80,877
107	Derry/Londonderry	74,702	+0.95%	29	2,558	8,438	77,545	85,565
108	Guildford	74,188	+0.44%	22	3,372	8,506	75,506	82,395
109	Crewe	73,622	+0.16%	22	3,346	8,568	74,097	76,211
110	Aylesbury	72,735	+0.79%	17	4,229	8,656	75,026	77,627
111	East Kilbride	71,727	+0.14%	20	3,586	8,766	72,134	72,468
112	Blantyre	71,595	+0.13%	22	3,254	8,780	71,980	72,345
113	Kirkby-in-Ashfield	71,165	+0.24%	25	2,847	8,830	71,859	75,428
114	Great Yarmouth	68,567	+0.80%	25	2,743	9,155	70,756	77,672
115	Royal Tunbridge Wells	68,092	+0.83%	18	3,783	9,212	70,349	84,417
116	Stafford	68,051	+0.65%	25	2,700	9,217	69,827	70,485
117	Harrogate	67,859	+0.18%	18	3,770	9,246	68,337	71,423
118	Burton-on-Trent	67,819	+0.29%	23	2,949	9,251	68,611	70,354
119	Pontefract	67,379	+0.18%	23	2,930	9,306	67,859	68,552
120	Bognor Regis	66,542	+0.70%	26	2,559	9,433	68,405	78,220
121	Oswaldtwistle	64,949	+0.23%	22	2,952	9,669	65,548	67,867
122	Reigate	64,709	+1.43%	20	3,172	9,703	68,416	77,957
123	Loughborough	64,325	+0.42%	18	3,574	9,766	65,396	68,143
124	Bangor	63,222	+0.39%	26	2,432	9,941	64,196	69,426
125	Hinckley	60,789	+0.38%	20	3,039	10,317	61,703	63,974
126	Falkirk	60,549	+0.18%	22	2,752	10,351	60,977	61,494
127	Carleton	60,484	+0.19%	17	3,558	10,359	60,950	63,176
128	Runcorn	59,953	+0.23%	20	2,998	10,437	60,496	61,142
129	Maidenhead	59,887	+0.40%	17	3,523	10,450	60,855	64,740
130	Livingston	59,405	+0.75%	21	2,776	10,528	61,187	61,684
131	Newbury	59,123	+0.44%	20	2,956	10,580	60,174	69,759
132	Taunton	59,078	+0.24%	19	3,109	10,586	59,640	63,802
133	Keighley	58,445	+0.30%	18	3,247	10,674	59,141	60,560
134	Folkestone	57,941	+0.93%	18	3,219	10,760	60,106	71,829
135	Ellesmere Port	57,689	+0.14%	17	3,393	10,808	58,012	58,211
136	Clacton-on-Sea	57,283	+0.85%	25	2,291	10,895	59,225	65,997
137	Kettering	57,030	+0.92%	16	3,520	10,950	59,134	62,998
138	Littlehampton	56,755	+1.74%	18	3,085	10,995	60,700	67,948
139	Dunfermline	56,198	+0.15%	19	2,958	11,097	56,532	56,842
140	Hereford	56,192	+0.37%	17	3,305	11,099	57,023	62,286
141	Canterbury	55,328	+2.03%	15	3,593	11,269	59,827	69,641
142	Kidderminster	55,013	+0.46%	18	3,056	11,313	56,032	60,125
143	Corby	54,737	+0.37%	15	3,649	11,370	55,539	59,060
144	Bridgend	54,703	+0.23%	19	2,879	11,375	55,215	57,739
145	Widnes	52,466	+0.11%	13	4,036	11,817	52,688	52,740
146	Brentwood	51,535	+1.40%	15	3,390	11,967	54,430	61,981
147	Horsham	51,533	+0.77%	16	3,221	11,968	53,112	64,796
148	Braintree	51,282	+0.79%	16	3,205	12,005	52,907	60,011
149	Barry	50,595	+0.24%	16	3,162	12,061	51,081	52,047
150	Ayr	50,502	+0.13%	22	2,296	12,069	50,764	53,389

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision, Online Edition.

Data topics

Reference

Tools

Largest Cities and Towns by Population in the United Kingdom

See also