# Biggest and smallest places in South West by population (2025)

Somerset was the most populated of South West’s 27 councils in 2025 (population estimate 590,972).

Isles of Scilly was the least populated (2,299). The middle council, Teignbridge, had 138,607.

| Rank | Area | Population estimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Somerset](https://openindex.co.uk/somerset) | 590,972 |
| 2 | [Cornwall](https://openindex.co.uk/cornwall) | 584,782 |
| 3 | [Wiltshire](https://openindex.co.uk/wiltshire) | 526,392 |
| 4 | [Bristol](https://openindex.co.uk/bristol) | 495,260 |
| 5 | [Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole](https://openindex.co.uk/bournemouth-christchurch-and-poole) | 405,829 |
| 6 | [Dorset](https://openindex.co.uk/dorset) | 391,036 |
| 7 | [South Gloucestershire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-gloucestershire) | 308,787 |
| 8 | [Plymouth](https://openindex.co.uk/plymouth) | 271,361 |
| 9 | [Swindon](https://openindex.co.uk/swindon) | 245,286 |
| 10 | [North Somerset](https://openindex.co.uk/north-somerset) | 227,160 |
| 11 | [Bath and North East Somerset](https://openindex.co.uk/bath-and-north-east-somerset) | 200,898 |
| 12 | [East Devon](https://openindex.co.uk/east-devon) | 159,637 |
| 13 | [Torbay](https://openindex.co.uk/torbay) | 139,486 |
| 14 | [Teignbridge](https://openindex.co.uk/teignbridge) | 138,607 |
| 15 | [Gloucester](https://openindex.co.uk/gloucester) | 138,565 |
| 16 | [Exeter](https://openindex.co.uk/exeter) | 137,894 |
| 17 | [Stroud](https://openindex.co.uk/stroud) | 126,418 |
| 18 | [Cheltenham](https://openindex.co.uk/cheltenham) | 121,452 |
| 19 | [Tewkesbury](https://openindex.co.uk/tewkesbury) | 103,753 |
| 20 | [North Devon](https://openindex.co.uk/north-devon) | 101,281 |
| 21 | [South Hams](https://openindex.co.uk/south-hams) | 93,171 |
| 22 | [Cotswold](https://openindex.co.uk/cotswold) | 91,563 |
| 23 | [Forest of Dean](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean) | 90,157 |
| 24 | [Mid Devon](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-devon) | 85,593 |
| 25 | [Torridge](https://openindex.co.uk/torridge) | 70,378 |
| 26 | [West Devon](https://openindex.co.uk/west-devon) | 58,980 |
| 27 | [Isles of Scilly](https://openindex.co.uk/isles-of-scilly) | 2,299 |

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)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/south-east)

- [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/south-west.

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 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-estimate/south-west