All About Cheltenham: History, Population, Growth & Employment
Cheltenham's history, population, growth over time, employment rate and Census 2021 headline figures, sourced directly from the ONS's Nomis service.
- 121,452 people (2025)
- 79.3% employment rate
About Cheltenham
Cheltenham is a spa town in Gloucestershire, in the South West of England, known for its Regency architecture, the Cheltenham Festival horse racing meeting, and its cluster of other festivals throughout the year. The town grew up around a mineral spring discovered in the early 18th century, and a royal visit from George III in 1788 helped turn it into a fashionable spa resort — the wide, tree-lined streets and grand terraces around the Promenade and Montpellier date from that Regency-era expansion.
Today Cheltenham’s economy leans heavily on technology and cyber security, education, and tourism around its festivals and racing. GCHQ, the government’s signals intelligence and cyber security agency, is based on the edge of town and has helped draw a wider cluster of tech and cyber firms to the area, alongside long-established independent schools including Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
This page pulls together the town’s key population and employment statistics, sourced directly from the Office for National Statistics, and refreshed automatically as new figures are published.
Cheltenham Through the Years
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1086 | Domesday Book records Cheltenham as a small village |
| 1226 | Granted market town status by Henry III |
| 1716 | Mineral spring discovered — the start of Cheltenham as a spa town |
| 1738–42 | Henry Skillicorne develops the well and builds the first spa buildings |
| 1788 | King George III’s month-long royal visit cements Cheltenham’s fame as a spa resort |
| 1818 | First race meetings on Cleeve Hill — precursor to today’s racecourse |
| 1830 | Pittville Pump Room built |
| 1841 / 1853 | Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Ladies’ College founded |
| 1893 | Neptune’s Fountain was built |
| 1898 | Racing re-established at Prestbury Park, the modern racecourse site |
| 1924 | First Cheltenham Gold Cup run |
| 1952 | GCHQ relocates to Cheltenham |
| 1969 | Brian Jones, founding member of the Rolling Stones was buried at the crem |
| 1974 | Charlton Kings was merged into Cheltenham district |
| 1991 | Swindon Village, Up Hatherley, Leckhampton and Prestbury were added to the borough of Cheltenham from the borough of Tewkesbury |
| 2004 | GCHQ’s new Benhall ‘Doughnut’ building officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II |
| 2011 | Old GCHQ site in Oakley closed |
| 2025 | Population reaches 121,452 |
Population & Growth
Cheltenham's population has grown from 110,024 in 2001 to 121,452 in 2025 — an increase of 10.4% over 24 years, according to the ONS's official mid-year population estimates.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 110,024 |
| 2002 | 109,775 |
| 2003 | 109,282 |
| 2004 | 109,763 |
| 2005 | 110,948 |
| 2006 | 111,637 |
| 2007 | 112,511 |
| 2008 | 112,971 |
| 2009 | 113,967 |
| 2010 | 114,901 |
| 2011 | 115,645 |
| 2012 | 116,018 |
| 2013 | 116,164 |
| 2014 | 117,094 |
| 2015 | 117,693 |
| 2016 | 118,953 |
| 2017 | 119,303 |
| 2018 | 119,600 |
| 2019 | 119,459 |
| 2020 | 118,924 |
| 2021 | 118,838 |
| 2022 | 119,521 |
| 2023 | 120,759 |
| 2024 | 121,461 |
| 2025 | 121,452 |
Employment
Labour market rates for Cheltenham residents aged 16-64, from the ONS Annual Population Survey, Apr 2025-Mar 2026:
- Economic activity rate: 82.5%
- Employment rate: 79.3%
- Unemployment rate: not published — suppressed by the ONS as statistically unreliable at this local scale
See the full year-by-year employment history since 2004, with a chart.
Census 2021
At the 2021 Census, Cheltenham had 118,836 usual residents — closely matching the same year's mid-year estimate above, as you'd expect from two independent counts of the same population.
Full data last refreshed 13 September 2026 at 00:12.
FAQs
Where Does This Data Come From?
Population and employment figures come from Nomis, the Office for National Statistics' official service for labour market and census data. Population estimates and Census 2021 figures are both a count of usual residents; the small difference between them is expected, since they use slightly different methods and reference dates.
Why Isn't the Unemployment Rate Always Shown?
Local unemployment rates are modelled from a survey sample, and for smaller areas like a single local authority, the ONS sometimes suppresses the figure as too statistically unreliable to publish. This is normal and not specific to Cheltenham.
How Often Is This Updated?
Population estimates and employment rates are refreshed by the ONS periodically throughout the year; this page re-fetches the latest published figures from Nomis monthly.