The population of Greater Manchester increased by 0.6% last year
17:54, 05 Oct 2026Updated 20:51, 05 Oct 2026
A busy platform at Manchester Piccadilly(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
New data paints a complex picture of Greater Manchester’s shifting demographics as the region’s population increases by almost double the UK rate – at the same time as the city centre appears to be beginning to shrink.
Some 11,814 people moved out of the city of Manchester to other areas in the UK between mid 2024 and mid 2025, according to new estimates from the Office of National Statistics. That represents a net decline of 0.06pc, around 341 people.
Among possible factors for the exodus could be graduates leaving university, or priced-out Mancs leaving the city centre for the – in theory – cheaper suburbs.
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Recent data analysed by the Manchester Evening News showed that the average rental price for a one-bedroom flat is now £1,003 per month – up 4.2pc from the previous year.
The nine other Greater Manchester boroughs saw a slight population increase of around or just under one percent, well above the national average rise of just 0.33pc, its lowest rate for nearly 30 years.
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The UK’s total population reached an estimated 69.5 million people in mid-2025, representing an increase of nearly 228,000 people over 12 months.
But excluding 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic virtually halted cross-border movement, this represents the slowest rate of population growth since 1998, and is mainly due to a fall in net international migration, which dropped from 652,000 in 2024 to 223,000.
The picture differs in Greater Manchester, where the population grew by 0.60%, almost double the UK rate, with the biggest driver international migration, which added 18,000 people to the region.
Salford saw the largest population growth of all the boroughs (Image: Manchester Evening News)
While there was a natural population boost of 6,523 more births than deaths, it was cancelled out by a net loss of 6,693 people who moved away from Greater Manchester to other parts of the UK.
Salford was Greater Manchester’s fastest-growing area, with a population boost of 3,496 people (1.19%), followed by Rochdale with 2,722 residents (1.16%), Stockport with 2,695 people (0.89%), and Wigan with 2,844 (0.83%).
The national figures follow consecutive years of major population growth. In 2024, the population grew by 668,000 people, or 0.97%, which was three times as fast as in 2025. In 2023, it increased by 908,000 (1.34%), and in 2022, by 702,000 (1.05%).
Natural population growth – the difference between births and deaths – contributed little to the overall rise. Last year, 652,400 births were recorded across the UK, the lowest number in more than 40 years.
Over the same period, there were 647,500 deaths, meaning that net natural change added just 4,900 to the UK population.
Of the 361 local authorities across the UK, 257 (71%) saw their populations grow, while 104 (29%), including Manchester, recorded a decline.