Aberdeenshire: local statistics
Aberdeenshire is a council area in Scotland, home to an estimated 264,640 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 8 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Aberdeenshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Life expectancy at birth in Aberdeenshire is 82.9 years for women and 79.5 years for men (2022 to 2024) (Scotland: 81.1 and 77.2). For women that is 0.7 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.1 more. It is the 4th highest for women of the 32 council areas in Scotland.
In March 2026, 14,335 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Aberdeenshire, 11% fewer than in 2016. There are 54 per 1,000 residents, 6th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest.
The median full-time employee living in Aberdeenshire was paid £824.80 a week before tax in April 2025, or £43,656 over a year. It is the 6th highest of 32 in Scotland, and 6.3% more than across Scotland. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £796.50, £28.30 lower. In 2015 the residents' median was £572.60, so it has risen 44% before inflation.
In August 2026, 3,300 people in Aberdeenshire were on the claimant count, 2.1% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for Scotland was 3.2%. Twelve months before, it was 1.9%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 1.7% (December 2024) and 3.1% (August 2021).
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Aberdeenshire at £204,894 for July 2026, up 0.7% on a year before. That is the 11th highest of 32 in Scotland; the average for Scotland was £196,349. The July peak was £206,578 in 2016, and prices are 1% below July 2016. The average price is 4.7 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Aberdeenshire. That ratio is close to the middle of the 32 council areas in Scotland (17th highest ratio).
Aberdeenshire had an estimated 264,640 residents in mid-2025, down 0.2% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 0.5%, against +3.6% for Scotland as a whole, the 20th fastest growth of the 32 council areas in Scotland. The series peaked at 265,110 in mid-2024.
An estimated 76.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Aberdeenshire were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 4.8 points), against 74.6% across Scotland. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 75.5% to 83.6%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 263,250 |
| 2016 | 263,460 |
| 2017 | 262,920 |
| 2018 | 262,220 |
| 2019 | 261,900 |
| 2020 | 261,510 |
| 2021 | 263,140 |
| 2022 | 263,750 |
| 2023 | 264,850 |
| 2024 | 265,110 |
| 2025 | 264,640 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £206,578 |
| July 2017 | £203,117 |
| July 2018 | £194,714 |
| July 2019 | £196,635 |
| July 2020 | £183,091 |
| July 2021 | £198,878 |
| July 2022 | £205,925 |
| July 2023 | £203,910 |
| July 2024 | £203,524 |
| July 2025 | £203,507 |
| July 2026 | £204,894 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £572.60 a week |
| 2016 | £570.20 a week |
| 2017 | £568.70 a week |
| 2018 | £594.50 a week |
| 2019 | £629.80 a week |
| 2020 | £605.10 a week |
| 2021 | £638.20 a week |
| 2022 | £710.80 a week |
| 2023 | £769.50 a week |
| 2024 | £784.30 a week |
| 2025 | £824.80 a week |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 80.1% |
| 2016/17 | 78.0% |
| 2017/18 | 81.4% |
| 2018/19 | 80.9% |
| 2019/20 | 80.9% |
| 2020/21 | 76.5% |
| 2021/22 | 75.5% |
| 2022/23 | 81.2% |
| 2023/24 | 83.6% |
| 2024/25 | 77.7% |
| 2025/26 | 76.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.6 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.0 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.6 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.2 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 16,075 |
| 2017 | 15,880 |
| 2018 | 15,740 |
| 2019 | 15,780 |
| 2020 | 15,720 |
| 2021 | 15,355 |
| 2022 | 14,950 |
| 2023 | 14,450 |
| 2024 | 14,345 |
| 2025 | 14,195 |
| 2026 | 14,335 |
Questions about Aberdeenshire
What is life expectancy in Aberdeenshire?
82.9 years for women and 79.5 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average salary in Aberdeenshire?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Aberdeenshire was £824.80 a week in April 2025 (£43,656 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Aberdeenshire?
The ONS claimant count was 3,300 in August 2026, 2.1% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average house price in Aberdeenshire?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £204,894.
What is the population of Aberdeenshire?
264,640 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over Aberdeenshire
Every body that makes decisions for Aberdeenshire, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Aberdeenshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Aberdeenshire in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government makes law for Scotland on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Aberdeenshire North and Moray East: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party) MP
- Gordon and Buchan: Harriet Cross (Conservative) MP
- West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine: Andrew Bowie (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Average house price: Scottish figures come from Registers of Scotland.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for Scotland
- UK figures: Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in Scotland: Aberdeen City · Highland · North Lanarkshire · Renfrewshire · South Lanarkshire · West Lothian
Related questions
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
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- What is the average house price in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.