Bedford: local statistics
Bedford is a unitary authority in the East of England, home to an estimated 196,398 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Bedford, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
196,398 people lived in Bedford in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 0.8% on a year earlier. That is 26,249 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 15.4% (the East of England: +8.5%). That is the 3rd fastest growth of all 45 council areas in the East of England. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
4.5% of Bedford residents aged 16 to 64 (5,460 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for the East of England was 3.3%. A year earlier the rate was 4.3%. The five-year high was 5.1% (August 2021); the low was 3.5% (January 2023).
Average Band D council tax in Bedford is £2,471.74 for 2026-27, up £120.80 on 2025-26. It is the 8th highest of all 45 council areas in the East of England. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,634.44, so it has risen 51%.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 81.7% of Bedford residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 4.8 points), against 78.3% across the East of England. Its lowest reading in the series was 74.0% and its highest 84.0%.
In the year to March 2026, 14,950 offences were recorded by police in Bedford: 76.1 per 1,000 people, 16th of 42 in the East of England, counting from the highest rate. The rate was 78.2 in the year to March 2025. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 63.7 to 86.5 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
In March 2026, 8,405 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Bedford, 9% more than in 2016. That is 43 for every 1,000 residents, the 36th highest of 45 in the East of England.
The average house price in Bedford was £333,824 in July 2026, up 3.9% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it mid-table in the East of England, 22nd of 45; the average for the East of England was £337,518. This July figure is the highest in the series, 38% up on July 2016. The average price is 8.1 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Bedford. That ratio is the 29th highest ratio of 45 in the East of England.
Full-time employees living in Bedford earned a median £779.80 a week in April 2025 (£41,214 a year). That is 3.1% below the figure for the East of England and mid-table in the East of England, 26th of 45. Jobs based in Bedford paid a median £739.10 a week, £40.70 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £556.50, so it has risen 40% before inflation.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Bedford had a life expectancy at birth of 83.9 years; for men it was 79.6 (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.2 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.4 less. It is mid-table in the East of England, 26th of 45.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 170,149 |
| 2016 | 173,703 |
| 2017 | 175,537 |
| 2018 | 178,288 |
| 2019 | 180,651 |
| 2020 | 182,346 |
| 2021 | 185,796 |
| 2022 | 187,805 |
| 2023 | 191,452 |
| 2024 | 194,881 |
| 2025 | 196,398 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £241,126 |
| July 2017 | £260,110 |
| July 2018 | £270,632 |
| July 2019 | £262,315 |
| July 2020 | £259,409 |
| July 2021 | £276,742 |
| July 2022 | £306,184 |
| July 2023 | £312,228 |
| July 2024 | £311,579 |
| July 2025 | £321,327 |
| July 2026 | £333,824 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £556.50 a week |
| 2016 | £584.00 a week |
| 2017 | £565.70 a week |
| 2018 | £575.90 a week |
| 2019 | £577.40 a week |
| 2020 | £624.00 a week |
| 2021 | £624.50 a week |
| 2022 | £635.20 a week |
| 2023 | £707.50 a week |
| 2024 | £753.90 a week |
| 2025 | £779.80 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,634.44 |
| 2017-18 | £1,704.11 |
| 2018-19 | £1,772.80 |
| 2019-20 | £1,837.04 |
| 2020-21 | £1,908.16 |
| 2021-22 | £1,985.33 |
| 2022-23 | £2,062.73 |
| 2023-24 | £2,132.39 |
| 2024-25 | £2,237.26 |
| 2025-26 | £2,350.94 |
| 2026-27 | £2,471.74 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 63.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 66.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 71.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 86.5 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 83.6 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 78.5 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 82.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 75.6 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 74.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 78.2 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 76.1 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 79.3% |
| 2016/17 | 79.8% |
| 2017/18 | 81.0% |
| 2018/19 | 77.7% |
| 2019/20 | 79.2% |
| 2020/21 | 84.0% |
| 2021/22 | 74.0% |
| 2022/23 | 77.1% |
| 2023/24 | 82.0% |
| 2024/25 | 78.2% |
| 2025/26 | 81.7% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.1 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,720 |
| 2017 | 8,085 |
| 2018 | 8,050 |
| 2019 | 8,175 |
| 2020 | 8,360 |
| 2021 | 8,440 |
| 2022 | 8,585 |
| 2023 | 8,370 |
| 2024 | 8,355 |
| 2025 | 8,350 |
| 2026 | 8,405 |
Questions about Bedford
What is the population of Bedford?
196,398 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Bedford?
The ONS claimant count was 5,460 in August 2026, 4.5% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Bedford?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,471.74 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Bedford?
Home Office figures show 14,950 offences in the year to March 2026, or 76.1 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average house price in Bedford?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £333,824.
What is the average salary in Bedford?
£779.80 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in Bedford?
83.9 years for women and 79.6 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Bedford
Every body that makes decisions for Bedford, 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
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Bedford council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Bedford in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Bedford: Mohammad Yasin (Labour) MP
- Mid Bedfordshire: Blake Stephenson (Conservative) MP
- North Bedfordshire: Richard Fuller (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.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the East of England
- UK figures: UK population · UK unemployment rate · UK employment rate
- Other council areas in the East of England: Basildon · Chelmsford · Colchester · Huntingdonshire · Southend-on-Sea · West Suffolk
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.