Reviewed figures: 1996 to 2025. The chart opens on the latest 30 years; choose All history for the full reviewed record.
Shown on this chart: 138,023 people in 1996; 196,398 people in 2025. 42.3% higher between these observations.
131k166k201.1k
19962025
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Full history context
The population rose from 138,023 to 196,398 between 1996 and 2025.
2024 to 2025: 1,517 more people (0.8% higher).
This counts the whole council area. Growth alone does not establish overcrowding or a shortfall in services.
Data table and workings
All ages, both sexes, usual residents. Source series rebased to the 2021/2022 censuses; latest revisions replace older estimates.
These estimates cover the whole authority, including any surrounding towns and countryside.
Historical boundaries/revisions follow the source series; null years are not zero.
The table retains the full reviewed history when the chart is shortened. Preset ranges end at this measure’s latest published period. Yearly windows count published annual periods; monthly windows count months. Gaps are never filled with estimates.
Population over time — Bedford council area: full reviewed history
Bedford council area · Cash prices, before allowing for inflation
Reviewed figures: January 2015 to August 2026. This reviewed record covers fewer than 30 years, so the chart opens on all of it.
Shown on this chart: £698 a month in January 2015; £1,173 a month in August 2026. 68.1% higher between these observations.
£641£926£1.2k
January 2015August 2026
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Full history context
Average monthly rent rose from £698 to £1,173 between January 2015 and August 2026.
August 2025 to August 2026: £34 more a month (3% higher).
Cash prices, before allowing for inflation. Changes do not show affordability without local earnings and household circumstances.
Data table and workings
Official local housing data feed. House prices are provisional, not seasonally adjusted; rents use the Price Index of Private Rents. Local short-term estimates are variable. Country references use only the explicitly country-coded ctry object, never the local place object.
The whole authority area, not just the named city settlement.
Prices are in pounds at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
Average existing and new private rents; not a quote for a home currently advertised.
The table retains the full reviewed history when the chart is shortened. Preset ranges end at this measure’s latest published period. Yearly windows count published annual periods; monthly windows count months. Gaps are never filled with estimates.
Average monthly private rent over time — Bedford council area: full reviewed history
Bedford council area · Cash prices, before allowing for inflation
Reviewed figures: January 1995 to July 2026. The chart opens on the latest 30 years; choose All history for the full reviewed record.
Shown on this chart: £53,264 in August 1996; £333,824 in July 2026. 526.7% higher between these observations.
£19.4k£188.6k£357.7k
August 1996July 2026
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Full history context
Average home prices rose from £54,000 to £334,000 between January 1995 and July 2026.
July 2025 to July 2026: £12,000 more per home (3.9% higher).
Cash prices, before allowing for inflation. Changes do not show affordability without local earnings and household circumstances.
Data table and workings
Published UK House Price Index average price, all property types and all buyers, not seasonally adjusted. Entire series comes from the 2026-07 official full-file release, preserving its historical revisions and exact area codes. It is a mix-adjusted average, not the median price paid.
Prices are in pounds at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
Whole local authority area; not a typical home listing or the budget needed by a first-time buyer.
Provisional estimates can be revised. Historical boundaries follow the exact published source code; no old-code series has been relabelled.
The table retains the full reviewed history when the chart is shortened. Preset ranges end at this measure’s latest published period. Yearly windows count published annual periods; monthly windows count months. Gaps are never filled with estimates.
Average home price over time — Bedford council area: full reviewed history
21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.
Published UK House Price Index average price, all property types and all buyers, not seasonally adjusted. Entire series comes from the 2026-07 official full-file release, preserving its historical revisions and exact area codes. It is a mix-adjusted average, not the median price paid.
Shown to the nearest £1,000. Published value: £333,824.
21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.
Residents aged 16+ not working because of long-term illness or disability
3.4%
21 March 2021 · Bedford council area
Show the workings
21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.
Official Police.uk 2026-08 full archive, street-crime CSVs only. Every force-month file read once; each source row retained without deduplicating persistent crime hashes. Approximate locations assigned to the same official generalised ward polygons as the API pipeline. Transport police, unlocated and outside-boundary records excluded; anti-social behaviour kept separate. Exact category counts checked against all retained API ward-months before accepting this adapter.
Published mapped crimes excluding anti-social behaviour
Official local housing data feed. House prices are provisional, not seasonally adjusted; rents use the Price Index of Private Rents. Local short-term estimates are variable. Country references use only the explicitly country-coded ctry object, never the local place object.
21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.
21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly. Unemployed residents as a share of all residents aged 16+; this is not the unemployment rate among economically active people.
