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Population around the county

Please note that the population estimates of sub-county areas provided on this page come from the 2021 Census. They are not mid-year estimates (MYEs) and as such are not directly comparable with the county-level estimates provided on the main Population page. Censuses provide the most accurate estimate of the population but the mid-year estimates (MYEs) are the official source of the population between censuses. The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) will publish Small Area Population Estimates (SAPE) for mid-2021 and mid-2022 later in the year.

The Census 2021 estimates for Herefordshire show a slower growth over the last decade than the MYEs rolled forward from the previous census. The ONS therefore plan to publish a revised back series of population estimates back to mid-2011 in 2024. The populations of both urban and rural areas of the county had been overestimated in the previous estimates, particularly Hereford city and the market towns of Leominster and Ledbury.

Key points for Herefordshire include:

  • Herefordshire has the fourth lowest population density in England, with 187,000 residents scattered all over its 842 square miles. Over half (99,600; 53%) live in areas defined as ‘rural’, with the majority of these (80,300 people; 43% of the total) in the most rural ‘village and dispersed’ areas.  Just under a third of the population lives in Hereford city (58,300 people), and just under a fifth in one of the three largest market towns of Leominster (11,900), Ross (11,000) and Ledbury (9,400).
  • The built-up areas of the county have grown more rapidly (by 8%) than the rural areas (by 6%) during the last two decades.
  • Hereford city has a much younger profile than the county as a whole, with relatively high proportions of young adults and young children. The most rural areas have relatively more people of older working and early retirement age (50-70 year olds). The market towns and other areas (including larger villages like Colwall and Credenhill) have a profile more similar to the county overall.