Bracknell Forest: local statistics
Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 132,145 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 Bracknell Forest, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Average Band D council tax in Bracknell Forest is £2,264.80 for 2026-27, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 3rd lowest in the South East. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,433.37.
In the year to March 2026, 6,881 offences were recorded by police in Bracknell Forest: 52.1 per 1,000 people, 42nd of 55 in the South East, counting from the highest rate. The rate was 57.0 in the year to March 2025. The highest rate in the series was 60.6, in the year to March 2024. Fraud is not included.
Bracknell Forest had an estimated 132,145 residents in mid-2025, a change of +1.3% in a year. That is 13,067 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 11.0% (the South East: +8.1%). That is the 18th fastest growth of the 64 council areas in the South East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
The median full-time employee living in Bracknell Forest was paid £862.40 a week before tax in April 2025, or £43,206 over a year. That is 5.8% above the figure for the South East and 18th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £874.60, £12.20 higher. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £589.10: a change of +46% before inflation.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Bracknell Forest had a life expectancy at birth of 85.2 years; for men it was 81.2, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. In 2012 to 2014 the figures were 84.8 and 81.2. It is the 19th highest for women of 64 in the South East.
The ONS counted 5,430 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Bracknell Forest in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. That is 41 for every 1,000 residents, the 48th highest of 64 in the South East.
An estimated 81.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Bracknell Forest were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.3 points), against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 78.0% to 84.4%.
Homes in Bracknell Forest sold for an average of £395,413 in July 2026, a fall of 1.4% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it mid-table in the South East, 30th of 64; the average for the South East was £380,878. The July peak was £400,877 in 2025, and prices are 11% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Bracknell Forest (£43,206) gives a ratio of 9.2. That ratio is mid-table in the South East, 35th of 64.
The claimant count for Bracknell Forest stood at 2,360 in August 2026, or 2.8% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the South East: 3.1%). Twelve months before, it was 2.6%. The five-year high was 3.1% (August 2021); the low was 1.9% (December 2023).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 119,078 |
| 2016 | 119,553 |
| 2017 | 120,164 |
| 2018 | 121,046 |
| 2019 | 121,660 |
| 2020 | 123,188 |
| 2021 | 125,195 |
| 2022 | 127,130 |
| 2023 | 128,972 |
| 2024 | 130,502 |
| 2025 | 132,145 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £357,388 |
| July 2017 | £358,084 |
| July 2018 | £358,035 |
| July 2019 | £339,891 |
| July 2020 | £344,529 |
| July 2021 | £353,850 |
| July 2022 | £395,056 |
| July 2023 | £395,490 |
| July 2024 | £392,614 |
| July 2025 | £400,877 |
| July 2026 | £395,413 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £589.10 a week |
| 2016 | £609.30 a week |
| 2017 | £629.80 a week |
| 2018 | £608.90 a week |
| 2019 | £682.10 a week |
| 2020 | £687.80 a week |
| 2021 | £726.50 a week |
| 2022 | £730.00 a week |
| 2023 | £742.70 a week |
| 2024 | £811.10 a week |
| 2025 | £862.40 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,433.37 |
| 2017-18 | £1,497.99 |
| 2018-19 | £1,584.44 |
| 2019-20 | £1,649.56 |
| 2020-21 | £1,716.03 |
| 2021-22 | £1,781.57 |
| 2022-23 | £1,860.91 |
| 2023-24 | £1,956.79 |
| 2024-25 | £2,051.30 |
| 2025-26 | £2,155.21 |
| 2026-27 | £2,264.80 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 39.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 42.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 42.0 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 52.6 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 55.5 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 47.7 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 56.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 58.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 60.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 57.0 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 52.1 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 84.2% |
| 2016/17 | 82.0% |
| 2017/18 | 84.4% |
| 2018/19 | 84.3% |
| 2019/20 | 84.2% |
| 2020/21 | 79.2% |
| 2021/22 | 78.1% |
| 2022/23 | 78.0% |
| 2023/24 | 80.1% |
| 2024/25 | 83.7% |
| 2025/26 | 81.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.8 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 85.0 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.4 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.2 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.9 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 85.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 5,235 |
| 2017 | 5,440 |
| 2018 | 5,410 |
| 2019 | 5,430 |
| 2020 | 5,480 |
| 2021 | 5,415 |
| 2022 | 5,320 |
| 2023 | 5,300 |
| 2024 | 5,255 |
| 2025 | 5,285 |
| 2026 | 5,430 |
Questions about Bracknell Forest
How much is Band D council tax in Bracknell Forest?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,264.80 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Bracknell Forest?
Home Office figures show 6,881 offences in the year to March 2026, or 52.1 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the population of Bracknell Forest?
132,145 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average salary in Bracknell Forest?
£862.40 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in Bracknell Forest?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 81.2 years for men and 85.2 for women.
What is the average house price in Bracknell Forest?
£395,413 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-1.4% on a year).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Bracknell Forest?
2,360 in August 2026 (2.8% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
Who has power over Bracknell Forest
Every body that makes decisions for Bracknell Forest, 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
- Bracknell Forest council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Bracknell Forest 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
- Bracknell: Peter Swallow (Labour) MP
- Maidenhead: Mr Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat) 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 South East
- UK figures: Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK population · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in the South East: Chichester · East Hampshire · Havant · Test Valley · Waverley · Winchester
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average salary 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.