# Biggest and smallest places in East of England by population (2025)

Central Bedfordshire was the most populated of East of England’s 45 councils in 2025 (population estimate 321,605).

Maldon was the least populated (70,196). The middle council, Norwich, had 145,676.

| Rank | Area | Population estimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Central Bedfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/central-bedfordshire) | 321,605 |
| 2 | [East Suffolk](https://openindex.co.uk/east-suffolk) | 250,106 |
| 3 | [Luton](https://openindex.co.uk/luton) | 236,380 |
| 4 | [Peterborough](https://openindex.co.uk/peterborough) | 224,757 |
| 5 | [Colchester](https://openindex.co.uk/colchester) | 201,163 |
| 6 | [Bedford](https://openindex.co.uk/bedford) | 196,398 |
| 7 | [Basildon](https://openindex.co.uk/basildon) | 193,489 |
| 8 | [Huntingdonshire](https://openindex.co.uk/huntingdonshire) | 191,941 |
| 9 | [Chelmsford](https://openindex.co.uk/chelmsford) | 190,570 |
| 10 | [West Suffolk](https://openindex.co.uk/west-suffolk) | 189,407 |
| 11 | [Southend-on-Sea](https://openindex.co.uk/southend-on-sea) | 185,214 |
| 12 | [Thurrock](https://openindex.co.uk/thurrock) | 181,664 |
| 13 | [South Cambridgeshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-cambridgeshire) | 174,641 |
| 14 | [Braintree](https://openindex.co.uk/braintree) | 166,471 |
| 15 | [Dacorum](https://openindex.co.uk/dacorum) | 162,316 |
| 16 | [Tendring](https://openindex.co.uk/tendring) | 159,060 |
| 17 | [East Hertfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-hertfordshire) | 158,033 |
| 18 | [King's Lynn and West Norfolk](https://openindex.co.uk/kings-lynn-and-west-norfolk) | 156,943 |
| 19 | [St Albans](https://openindex.co.uk/st-albans) | 150,757 |
| 20 | [South Norfolk](https://openindex.co.uk/south-norfolk) | 150,396 |
| 21 | [Cambridge](https://openindex.co.uk/cambridge) | 149,872 |
| 22 | [Breckland](https://openindex.co.uk/breckland) | 148,095 |
| 23 | [Norwich](https://openindex.co.uk/norwich) | 145,676 |
| 24 | [Broadland](https://openindex.co.uk/broadland) | 139,652 |
| 25 | [Ipswich](https://openindex.co.uk/ipswich) | 139,457 |
| 26 | [Epping Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/epping-forest) | 138,394 |
| 27 | [North Hertfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-hertfordshire) | 137,365 |
| 28 | [Welwyn Hatfield](https://openindex.co.uk/welwyn-hatfield) | 121,748 |
| 29 | [Mid Suffolk](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-suffolk) | 113,047 |
| 30 | [Hertsmere](https://openindex.co.uk/hertsmere) | 110,242 |
| 31 | [Watford](https://openindex.co.uk/watford) | 107,658 |
| 32 | [Fenland](https://openindex.co.uk/fenland) | 105,930 |
| 33 | [North Norfolk](https://openindex.co.uk/north-norfolk) | 103,708 |
| 34 | [Broxbourne](https://openindex.co.uk/broxbourne) | 103,130 |
| 35 | [Great Yarmouth](https://openindex.co.uk/great-yarmouth) | 100,957 |
| 36 | [Harlow](https://openindex.co.uk/harlow) | 98,543 |
| 37 | [Babergh](https://openindex.co.uk/babergh) | 97,833 |
| 38 | [Uttlesford](https://openindex.co.uk/uttlesford) | 96,762 |
| 39 | [Three Rivers](https://openindex.co.uk/three-rivers) | 96,068 |
| 40 | [East Cambridgeshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-cambridgeshire) | 94,599 |
| 41 | [Stevenage](https://openindex.co.uk/stevenage) | 92,081 |
| 42 | [Rochford](https://openindex.co.uk/rochford) | 90,760 |
| 43 | [Castle Point](https://openindex.co.uk/castle-point) | 90,613 |
| 44 | [Brentwood](https://openindex.co.uk/brentwood) | 80,104 |
| 45 | [Maldon](https://openindex.co.uk/maldon) | 70,196 |

Source: Mid-year population estimates, ONS population estimates. Period: 2025. Period: 2025.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/west-midlands)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population-estimate)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population-estimate)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/east-of-england.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/east-of-england