Bolton: local statistics
Bolton is a metropolitan borough in the North West, home to an estimated 309,732 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 Bolton, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Full-time employees living in Bolton earned a median £674.50 a week in April 2025 (£34,186 a year). That is 8.2% below the figure for the North West and 31st of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest. Jobs based in Bolton paid a median £643.20 a week, £31.30 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £469.10, so it has risen 44% before inflation.
Average Band D council tax in Bolton is £2,399.74 for 2026-27, up £133.21 on 2025-26. It is the 30th highest of all 35 council areas in the North West. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,542.52.
In the year to March 2026, 30,380 offences were recorded by police in Bolton: 98.1 per 1,000 people, the 8th highest rate of all 35 council areas in the North West. The rate was 101.7 in the year to March 2025. The highest rate in the series was 123.9, in the year to March 2018. Fraud is not included.
The claimant count for Bolton stood at 10,025 in August 2026, or 5.3% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the North West: 4.2%). A year earlier the rate was 5.2%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 5.0% (January 2026) and 7.1% (August 2021).
An estimated 69.5% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Bolton were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 4.3 points either way; the figure for the North West was 73.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 65.5% to 73.2%.
In March 2026, 12,405 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Bolton, 20% more than in 2016. That is 40 for every 1,000 residents, mid-table in the North West, 16th of 35.
The average house price in Bolton was £204,379 in July 2026, up 5.9% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it close to the middle of all 35 council areas in the North West (20th highest) (regional average £221,445). Prices are 73% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Bolton (£34,186) gives a ratio of 6.0. That ratio is mid-table in the North West, 15th of 35.
The ONS estimates that 309,732 people lived in Bolton in mid-2025, up 0.3% on a year earlier. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +8.7%; the North West grew by 8.2% over the same years. That is mid-table in the North West, 15th of 35. No earlier year in the series was higher.
A girl born in Bolton in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.4 years and a boy 76.9 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.2 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 1.0 less. It is close to the middle of all 35 council areas in the North West (21st highest for women).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 284,972 |
| 2016 | 287,253 |
| 2017 | 289,684 |
| 2018 | 291,594 |
| 2019 | 294,888 |
| 2020 | 295,712 |
| 2021 | 296,169 |
| 2022 | 299,591 |
| 2023 | 304,761 |
| 2024 | 308,904 |
| 2025 | 309,732 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £117,937 |
| July 2017 | £121,956 |
| July 2018 | £129,459 |
| July 2019 | £133,159 |
| July 2020 | £135,263 |
| July 2021 | £158,111 |
| July 2022 | £175,508 |
| July 2023 | £179,179 |
| July 2024 | £189,172 |
| July 2025 | £192,981 |
| July 2026 | £204,379 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £469.10 a week |
| 2016 | £465.50 a week |
| 2017 | £471.50 a week |
| 2018 | £498.20 a week |
| 2019 | £512.70 a week |
| 2020 | £523.70 a week |
| 2021 | £528.30 a week |
| 2022 | £572.00 a week |
| 2023 | £620.90 a week |
| 2024 | £666.40 a week |
| 2025 | £674.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,542.52 |
| 2017-18 | £1,612.15 |
| 2018-19 | £1,701.24 |
| 2019-20 | £1,767.03 |
| 2020-21 | £1,820.96 |
| 2021-22 | £1,888.62 |
| 2022-23 | £1,959.66 |
| 2023-24 | £2,044.63 |
| 2024-25 | £2,147.47 |
| 2025-26 | £2,266.53 |
| 2026-27 | £2,399.74 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 79.2 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 89.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 123.9 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 120.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 96.9 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 96.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 122.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 120.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 109.4 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 101.7 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 98.1 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 70.0% |
| 2016/17 | 73.2% |
| 2017/18 | 69.7% |
| 2018/19 | 70.6% |
| 2019/20 | 66.5% |
| 2020/21 | 67.9% |
| 2021/22 | 67.8% |
| 2022/23 | 69.0% |
| 2023/24 | 65.5% |
| 2024/25 | 66.8% |
| 2025/26 | 69.5% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.6 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.7 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.9 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.3 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.4 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 10,325 |
| 2017 | 10,700 |
| 2018 | 11,055 |
| 2019 | 12,140 |
| 2020 | 11,950 |
| 2021 | 12,175 |
| 2022 | 12,215 |
| 2023 | 11,640 |
| 2024 | 11,770 |
| 2025 | 12,080 |
| 2026 | 12,405 |
Questions about Bolton
What is the average salary in Bolton?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Bolton was £674.50 a week in April 2025 (£34,186 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How much is Band D council tax in Bolton?
£2,399.74 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the crime rate in Bolton?
Home Office figures show 30,380 offences in the year to March 2026, or 98.1 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Bolton?
10,025 in August 2026 (5.3% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the average house price in Bolton?
£204,379 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+5.9% on a year).
What is the population of Bolton?
309,732 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is life expectancy in Bolton?
81.4 years for women and 76.9 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Bolton
Every body that makes decisions for Bolton, 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
- Bolton council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Bolton 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
- Bolton North East: Kirith Entwistle (Labour) MP
- Bolton South and Walkden: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour) MP
- Bolton West: Phil Brickell (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 · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the North West: Cumberland · Salford · Sefton · Stockport · Wigan · Wirral
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.