Population and Housing Growth

Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate that between 2006 and 2010 the population of Plymouth increased by 7,400 people.

Mid year population estimate for Plymouth

• 1999: 242,000
• 2000: 241,700
• 2001: 241,000
• 2002: 242,000
• 2003: 242,300
• 2004: 244,900
• 2005: 248,200
• 2006: 251,300
• 2007: 254,400
• 2008: 255,600
• 2009: 256,700
• 2010: 258,700

Between 2006 and 2011 we built an additional 4,045 homes, mainly in the Waterfront Regeneration areas and also in Plympton and to the north of the city.

Map showing location of new dwellings 2006 to 2011 [1MB]

There are 113,600 households in the city. Communities and Local Government (CLG) household projections estimate that this will increase to 136,000 households by 2031. However these projections are based on past trends and do not take of account factors such as the effects of policy.

ONS analysis of the future population structure expects that by 2026 there will be:

• the biggest increase in the 30 to 39 age group
• a significant increase in children aged 0 to 14 years
• some increase in all age groups over 55 years
• a fall in numbers of those aged 20 to 24 and those aged 45 to 54.

Chart showing estimated changes to age structure 2011-2026 [35KB]

This page of the annual monitoring report was last updated December 2011.