Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: local statistics
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is a unitary authority in the South West, home to an estimated 405,829 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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
405,829 people lived in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in mid-2025, according to the ONS, down 0.5% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 3.4%; the South West grew by 8.0% over the same years. That is 23rd of 27 in the South West, counting from the fastest growth. The series peaked at 408,009 in mid-2024.
3.3% of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole residents aged 16 to 64 (8,405 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 2.7% in the South West. The rate was the same a year earlier. The five-year high was 4.7% (August 2021); the low was 3.0% (October 2023).
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is £2,435.58, 7.5% more than in 2025-26. It is the 21st highest of 27 in the South West. Ten years earlier, in 2019-20, it was £1,787.81.
The ONS counted 18,475 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in March 2026, 7% more than in 2016. That is 46 for every 1,000 residents, the 19th highest of 27 in the South West.
A girl born in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 83.9 years and a boy 79.7 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.0 years for women and -0.2 for men. It is close to the middle of the 26 council areas in the South West (16th highest for women).
Homes in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole sold for an average of £310,094 in July 2026, down 1.9% on a year before. It ranks as close to the middle of the 26 council areas in the South West (13th highest) (regional average £302,298). The July peak was £332,501 in 2022, and prices are 22% above July 2016. The average price is 8.3 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. That ratio is close to the middle of the 26 council areas in the South West (13th highest ratio).
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole was £728.90 in April 2025 (£37,493 a year). It is close to the middle of the 26 council areas in the South West (15th highest), and 0.7% less than across the South West. The workplace figure, £727.40, is within £5 of it. Ten years earlier, in 2018, it was £553.60: a change of +32% before inflation.
An estimated 77.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 2.7 points); the figure for the South West was 79.0%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 74.5% to 81.3%.
The Home Office does not publish recorded crime for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole on its own for recent years, so this page gives the figure for the Dorset police force area: 47,076 offences excluding fraud in the year to March 2026, 4,047 fewer than the year before.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 392,499 |
| 2016 | 397,066 |
| 2017 | 399,374 |
| 2018 | 400,064 |
| 2019 | 400,182 |
| 2020 | 399,564 |
| 2021 | 400,155 |
| 2022 | 403,014 |
| 2023 | 406,976 |
| 2024 | 408,009 |
| 2025 | 405,829 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £255,216 |
| July 2017 | £269,990 |
| July 2018 | £279,170 |
| July 2019 | £276,520 |
| July 2020 | £282,648 |
| July 2021 | £298,703 |
| July 2022 | £332,501 |
| July 2023 | £327,798 |
| July 2024 | £320,575 |
| July 2025 | £316,236 |
| July 2026 | £310,094 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2018 | £553.60 a week |
| 2019 | £565.40 a week |
| 2020 | £536.60 a week |
| 2021 | £560.90 a week |
| 2022 | £609.00 a week |
| 2023 | £670.80 a week |
| 2024 | £690.40 a week |
| 2025 | £728.90 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2019-20 | £1,787.81 |
| 2020-21 | £1,841.77 |
| 2021-22 | £1,882.11 |
| 2022-23 | £1,955.24 |
| 2023-24 | £2,055.34 |
| 2024-25 | £2,157.20 |
| 2025-26 | £2,264.78 |
| 2026-27 | £2,435.58 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 75.6% |
| 2016/17 | 75.6% |
| 2017/18 | 76.5% |
| 2018/19 | 77.6% |
| 2019/20 | 81.3% |
| 2020/21 | 76.4% |
| 2021/22 | 76.9% |
| 2022/23 | 80.0% |
| 2023/24 | 74.5% |
| 2024/25 | 75.9% |
| 2025/26 | 77.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.9 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.6 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.8 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.5 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 17,240 |
| 2017 | 17,645 |
| 2018 | 17,780 |
| 2019 | 18,065 |
| 2020 | 18,055 |
| 2021 | 18,125 |
| 2022 | 18,365 |
| 2023 | 18,180 |
| 2024 | 18,265 |
| 2025 | 18,315 |
| 2026 | 18,475 |
Questions about Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
What is the population of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
405,829 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
The ONS claimant count was 8,405 in August 2026, 3.3% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
£2,435.58 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is life expectancy in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
83.9 years for women and 79.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average house price in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
£310,094 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-1.9% on a year).
What is the average salary in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole was £728.90 a week in April 2025 (£37,493 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Who has power over Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Every body that makes decisions for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, 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
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 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
- Bournemouth East: Tom Hayes (Labour) MP
- Bournemouth West: Jessica Toale (Labour) MP
- Christchurch: Sir Christopher Chope (Conservative) MP
- Mid Dorset and North Poole: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Poole: Neil Duncan-Jordan (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 (police force area): This figure covers the whole Dorset police force area, not just Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, because the Home Office tables do not give Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole on its own. It is the sum of the force's partnership rows, including offences not assigned to a partnership, and excludes fraud.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the South West
- UK figures: UK population · UK unemployment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the South West: Bristol, City of · Dorset · Plymouth · South Gloucestershire · Swindon · Wiltshire
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 healthy is my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.