Since its founding, the town was inhabited by a mix of Hungarians and Serbs, who were lated joined by Germans and Jews.

[2] During the Interwar Period, Bonyhád became the focal point of a heated fight between Germans seeking minority rights, and the Hungarian government which was invested in their assimilation.

After the occupation of Hungary by the German army in March 1944, the town's remaining Jewish citizens were isolated, and their property was confiscated by the Hungarian authorities.

On July 1, 1944 the population of the two ghettos were transported by train to the Lakitcs military barracks in the nearby city of Pécs.

After the war, Allied Powers confiscated the property and lands of the town's German minority, who were subsequently deported en masse.

[7] A small number of Jews returned to the town, and made an effort to reestablish the Orthodox and Neologue communities in Bonyhád.

Various sporting facilities and three high school/college compounds (e.g. Petőfi Sándor Evangélikus Gimnázium, Perczel Mór Szakközépiskola) along with the City Hospital currently serve the residents.