Leeds is the second largest city council in England in terms of both population and geographical area, and has the ambition to be the best city in the UK for children and young people to grow up in.
There are 176,239 children and young people aged under 18 in Leeds, as estimated by the Office for National Statistics for 2024 (mid-year estimates published July 2025). This is of an overall population of 845,189. The under 25 population is 281,807, with Leeds having a higher student population than the national average for local authorities.
The Leeds overall population has grown by 1.4% since last year, compared to the England average increase of 1.2%.
The Leeds child population grew by 8.4% between 2016 and 2025, mainly driven by the birth rate that was approximately 10,000 per year until 2018. Since then, the birth rate has reduced by 15%, to 8,500 and the high birth years are now progressing through teenage years.
In Leeds 24% of communities (Index of Multiple Deprivation) are considered amongst the 10% most deprived nationally and 33% of children and young people live in those communities.
The January 2026 school census shows that 37.4% of children in reception to year 11 are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, 57.2% are from white British backgrounds and 3.1% from white European backgrounds. The younger the population the greater the diversity. In primary schools 26.3% of children are eligible for free school meals and 32.6 in secondary education (January 2026).