It is difficult to give meaningful comparative figures for the population due to the shifting boundaries and definition of Whitefield.
The following population statistics
(source: A History of Whitefield by John F Wilson) are of interest:
| 1714 | 1789 | 1792 | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | |||
| Whitefield | 740 | 2455 | 2780 | } | 5786 | 7353 | 8976 | 11006 | 11186 | 12862 | |
| Unsworth | 575 | 755 | } | ||||||||
| Outwood | 315 | 780 | 915 | } |
While later census produced the following:
| Census | Population |
| 1891 | 5823 |
| 1901 | 6588 |
| 1911 | 6967 |
| 1921 | 6902 |
| 1931 | 9107 |
| 1951 | 12912 |
| 1961 | 14370 |
| 1964 | 15480 (estimated) |