Braintree: local statistics
Braintree is a district council area in the East of England, home to an estimated 166,471 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 Braintree, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Average Band D council tax in Braintree is £2,280.34 for 2026-27, 3.9% more than in 2025-26. It is the 40th highest of 45 in the East of England. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,550.36.
The ONS estimates that 166,471 people lived in Braintree in mid-2025, up 1.7% on a year earlier. That is 15,563 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 10.3%, against +8.5% for the East of England as a whole. That is 13th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the fastest growth. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
A girl born in Braintree in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 83.6 years and a boy 80.2 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.2 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.2 more. It is the 30th highest for women of 45 in the East of England.
In the year to March 2026, 8,750 offences were recorded by police in Braintree: 52.6 per 1,000 people, 27th of 42 in the East of England, counting from the highest rate. That compares with 57.3 per 1,000 the year before. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 45.5 to 75.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The average house price in Braintree was £328,477 in July 2026, up 1.6% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it close to the middle of all 45 council areas in the East of England (24th highest) (regional average £337,518). Since July 2016 prices have risen 26%; the July high in the series was £330,192 in 2023. The average price is 8.3 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Braintree. That ratio is close to the middle of all 45 council areas in the East of England (23rd highest ratio).
The median full-time employee living in Braintree was paid £825.50 a week before tax in April 2025 (£39,712 a year). That is 2.6% above the figure for the East of England and mid-table in the East of England, 20th of 45. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £723.30, £102.20 lower. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £588.80: a change of +40% before inflation.
In March 2026, 7,625 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Braintree, 2% more than in 2016. There are 46 per 1,000 residents, mid-table in the East of England, 23rd of 45.
The claimant count for Braintree stood at 2,675 in August 2026, or 2.7% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the East of England: 3.3%). Twelve months before, it was 2.5%. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.8% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.4% in January 2023.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 79.3% of Braintree residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 5.8 points), against 78.3% across the East of England. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 72.4% to 85.8%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 150,908 |
| 2016 | 151,848 |
| 2017 | 152,422 |
| 2018 | 152,353 |
| 2019 | 153,439 |
| 2020 | 154,107 |
| 2021 | 155,693 |
| 2022 | 157,495 |
| 2023 | 160,135 |
| 2024 | 163,745 |
| 2025 | 166,471 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £261,626 |
| July 2017 | £280,084 |
| July 2018 | £286,382 |
| July 2019 | £282,770 |
| July 2020 | £285,484 |
| July 2021 | £292,883 |
| July 2022 | £324,188 |
| July 2023 | £330,192 |
| July 2024 | £315,281 |
| July 2025 | £323,332 |
| July 2026 | £328,477 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £588.80 a week |
| 2016 | £599.30 a week |
| 2017 | £579.60 a week |
| 2018 | £627.80 a week |
| 2019 | £615.70 a week |
| 2020 | £589.90 a week |
| 2021 | £600.90 a week |
| 2022 | £688.60 a week |
| 2023 | £697.80 a week |
| 2024 | £781.90 a week |
| 2025 | £825.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,550.36 |
| 2017-18 | £1,597.12 |
| 2018-19 | £1,675.32 |
| 2019-20 | £1,757.70 |
| 2020-21 | £1,823.57 |
| 2021-22 | £1,854.90 |
| 2022-23 | £1,933.05 |
| 2023-24 | £2,010.38 |
| 2024-25 | £2,109.51 |
| 2025-26 | £2,194.67 |
| 2026-27 | £2,280.34 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 45.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 48.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 55.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 66.5 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 71.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 65.9 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 75.6 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 68.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 63.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 57.3 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 52.6 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 80.7% |
| 2016/17 | 77.9% |
| 2017/18 | 83.3% |
| 2018/19 | 83.6% |
| 2019/20 | 77.2% |
| 2020/21 | 83.3% |
| 2021/22 | 85.8% |
| 2022/23 | 78.3% |
| 2023/24 | 72.4% |
| 2024/25 | 76.1% |
| 2025/26 | 79.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.1 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.7 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.0 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.0 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.0 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,465 |
| 2017 | 7,550 |
| 2018 | 7,500 |
| 2019 | 7,500 |
| 2020 | 7,470 |
| 2021 | 7,540 |
| 2022 | 7,635 |
| 2023 | 7,440 |
| 2024 | 7,485 |
| 2025 | 7,490 |
| 2026 | 7,625 |
Questions about Braintree
How much is Band D council tax in Braintree?
£2,280.34 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the population of Braintree?
166,471 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is life expectancy in Braintree?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 80.2 years for men and 83.6 for women.
What is the crime rate in Braintree?
52.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average house price in Braintree?
£328,477 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+1.6% on a year).
What is the average salary in Braintree?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Braintree was £825.50 a week in April 2025 (£39,712 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Braintree?
2,675 in August 2026 (2.7% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
Who has power over Braintree
Every body that makes decisions for Braintree, 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
- Braintree council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Braintree in official figures this page
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- Essex County Council county council
- Essex Police police force
- NHS Essex Integrated Care Board NHS
- East of England in official figures
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
- Braintree: Sir James Cleverly (Conservative) MP
- Witham: Priti Patel (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 · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the East of England: Dacorum · East Hertfordshire · King's Lynn and West Norfolk · South Cambridgeshire · Tendring · Thurrock
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the population of my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.