Blackburn with Darwen: local statistics
Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority in the North West, home to an estimated 163,801 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 Blackburn with Darwen, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Blackburn with Darwen took home £649.60 a week before tax (£33,076 a year). That is 11.6% below the figure for the North West and the 3rd lowest of the 35 council areas in the North West. For full-time jobs located in Blackburn with Darwen the median is £678.50 a week (+£28.90 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £411.90: a change of +58% before inflation.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Blackburn with Darwen at £165,131 for July 2026, up 5.2% on a year before. That is the 31st highest of the 35 council areas in the North West; the average for the North West was £221,445. This July figure is the highest in the series, 66% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Blackburn with Darwen (£33,076) gives a ratio of 5.0. That ratio is the 30th highest ratio of 35 in the North West.
The claimant count for Blackburn with Darwen stood at 5,800 in August 2026, or 5.7% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the North West was 4.2%. A year earlier the rate was 5.4%. Over the last five years it peaked at 6.8% in August 2021 and was lowest at 4.8% in December 2023.
An estimated 65.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Blackburn with Darwen were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.8 points), against 73.8% across the North West. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 64.7% to 68.7%.
Life expectancy at birth in Blackburn with Darwen is 80.4 years for women and 76.5 years for men (2022 to 2024) (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.8 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 less. It is 29th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest for women.
A Band D home in Blackburn with Darwen pays an average of £2,455.27 in council tax in 2026-27, up £118.10 on 2025-26. It is 23rd of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,549.77, so it has risen 58%.
The ONS estimates that 163,801 people lived in Blackburn with Darwen in mid-2025, up 1.4% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 8.8% (the North West: +8.2%), the 13th fastest growth of 35 in the North West. No earlier year in the series was higher.
In the year to March 2026, 13,682 offences were recorded by police in Blackburn with Darwen: 83.5 per 1,000 people, mid-table in the North West, 16th of 35. A year earlier it was 85.4. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 72.2 to 122.4 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
In March 2026, 6,555 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Blackburn with Darwen, 20% more than in 2016. That is 40 for every 1,000 residents, close to the middle of the 35 council areas in the North West (17th highest).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 150,490 |
| 2016 | 151,497 |
| 2017 | 152,312 |
| 2018 | 152,787 |
| 2019 | 154,066 |
| 2020 | 154,564 |
| 2021 | 154,954 |
| 2022 | 155,987 |
| 2023 | 158,543 |
| 2024 | 161,618 |
| 2025 | 163,801 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £99,599 |
| July 2017 | £109,581 |
| July 2018 | £111,939 |
| July 2019 | £113,354 |
| July 2020 | £114,781 |
| July 2021 | £126,200 |
| July 2022 | £138,104 |
| July 2023 | £139,823 |
| July 2024 | £145,380 |
| July 2025 | £157,029 |
| July 2026 | £165,131 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £411.90 a week |
| 2016 | £445.20 a week |
| 2017 | £458.10 a week |
| 2018 | £453.50 a week |
| 2019 | £491.10 a week |
| 2020 | £456.00 a week |
| 2021 | £530.70 a week |
| 2022 | £540.30 a week |
| 2023 | £580.10 a week |
| 2024 | £593.70 a week |
| 2025 | £649.60 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,549.77 |
| 2017-18 | £1,618.64 |
| 2018-19 | £1,715.46 |
| 2019-20 | £1,785.24 |
| 2020-21 | £1,856.95 |
| 2021-22 | £1,936.09 |
| 2022-23 | £2,016.21 |
| 2023-24 | £2,120.87 |
| 2024-25 | £2,224.68 |
| 2025-26 | £2,337.17 |
| 2026-27 | £2,455.27 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 72.2 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 80.7 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 94.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 122.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 105.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 88.1 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 101.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 90.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 87.0 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 85.4 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 83.5 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 64.7% |
| 2016/17 | 65.4% |
| 2017/18 | 65.3% |
| 2018/19 | 67.3% |
| 2019/20 | 68.7% |
| 2020/21 | 65.2% |
| 2021/22 | 67.8% |
| 2022/23 | 67.5% |
| 2023/24 | 67.9% |
| 2024/25 | 68.6% |
| 2025/26 | 65.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 80.9 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 80.7 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 80.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 80.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 80.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 80.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 80.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.0 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 80.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 80.4 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 5,485 |
| 2017 | 5,605 |
| 2018 | 5,935 |
| 2019 | 5,895 |
| 2020 | 5,810 |
| 2021 | 6,120 |
| 2022 | 6,565 |
| 2023 | 6,355 |
| 2024 | 6,345 |
| 2025 | 6,375 |
| 2026 | 6,555 |
Questions about Blackburn with Darwen
What is the average salary in Blackburn with Darwen?
£649.60 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the average house price in Blackburn with Darwen?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £165,131.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Blackburn with Darwen?
The ONS claimant count was 5,800 in August 2026, 5.7% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in Blackburn with Darwen?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 76.5 years for men and 80.4 for women.
How much is Band D council tax in Blackburn with Darwen?
£2,455.27 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the population of Blackburn with Darwen?
The ONS estimates 163,801 people lived in Blackburn with Darwen in mid-2025.
What is the crime rate in Blackburn with Darwen?
Home Office figures show 13,682 offences in the year to March 2026, or 83.5 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
Who has power over Blackburn with Darwen
Every body that makes decisions for Blackburn with Darwen, 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
- Blackburn with Darwen council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Blackburn with Darwen 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
- Blackburn: Mr Adnan Hussain (Independent) MP
- Rossendale and Darwen: Andy MacNae (Labour) 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 North West
- UK figures: UK average weekly earnings growth · UK average house price · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the North West: Blackpool · Halton · Knowsley · Lancaster · Preston · St. Helens
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.