Canterbury: local statistics
Canterbury is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 162,612 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 Canterbury, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
An estimated 69.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Canterbury were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 6.8 points either way; the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Its lowest reading in the series was 63.7% and its highest 79.5%.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Canterbury was £735.00 in April 2025, or £37,682 over a year. That is 9.8% below the figure for the South East and 51st of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. Jobs based in Canterbury paid a median £700.40 a week, £34.60 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £582.00: a change of +26% before inflation.
The ONS estimates that 162,612 people lived in Canterbury in mid-2025, up 0.1% on mid-2024. That is 6,469 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 4.1%, against +8.1% for the South East as a whole. That is the 50th fastest growth of the 64 council areas in the South East. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
In the year to March 2026, 12,915 offences were recorded by police in Canterbury: 79.4 per 1,000 people, the 14th highest rate of the 55 council areas in the South East. A year earlier it was 77.0. In the year to March 2016 it was 59.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The average house price in Canterbury was £337,454 in July 2026, up 2.9% on a year before. It ranks as 44th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest (regional average £380,878). Since July 2016 prices have risen 24%; the July high in the series was £351,945 in 2022. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Canterbury (£37,682) gives a ratio of 9.0. That ratio is the 40th highest ratio of the 64 council areas in the South East.
A girl born in Canterbury in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 83.7 years and a boy 79.9 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.3 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 less. It is 44th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest for women.
Average Band D council tax in Canterbury is £2,419.33 for 2026-27, 4.2% more than in 2025-26. It is the 42nd highest of the 64 council areas in the South East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,565.67, so it has risen 55%.
3.2% of Canterbury residents aged 16 to 64 (3,200 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026 (the South East: 3.1%). A year earlier the rate was 3.0%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 2.9% (October 2022) and 4.1% (August 2021).
In March 2026, 6,865 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Canterbury, 9% more than in 2016. That is 42 for every 1,000 residents, the 45th highest of the 64 council areas in the South East.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 156,143 |
| 2016 | 157,280 |
| 2017 | 157,944 |
| 2018 | 157,256 |
| 2019 | 157,109 |
| 2020 | 157,187 |
| 2021 | 156,631 |
| 2022 | 159,081 |
| 2023 | 161,601 |
| 2024 | 162,372 |
| 2025 | 162,612 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £271,458 |
| July 2017 | £292,631 |
| July 2018 | £302,035 |
| July 2019 | £302,574 |
| July 2020 | £314,370 |
| July 2021 | £326,108 |
| July 2022 | £351,945 |
| July 2023 | £339,531 |
| July 2024 | £339,055 |
| July 2025 | £327,814 |
| July 2026 | £337,454 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £582.00 a week |
| 2016 | £558.40 a week |
| 2017 | £555.80 a week |
| 2018 | £582.50 a week |
| 2019 | £626.50 a week |
| 2020 | £598.40 a week |
| 2021 | £577.60 a week |
| 2022 | £654.30 a week |
| 2023 | £667.50 a week |
| 2024 | £728.30 a week |
| 2025 | £735.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,565.67 |
| 2017-18 | £1,622.88 |
| 2018-19 | £1,702.08 |
| 2019-20 | £1,797.33 |
| 2020-21 | £1,866.22 |
| 2021-22 | £1,955.91 |
| 2022-23 | £2,014.71 |
| 2023-24 | £2,114.65 |
| 2024-25 | £2,214.97 |
| 2025-26 | £2,321.73 |
| 2026-27 | £2,419.33 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 59.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 67.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 94.1 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 104.7 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 98.9 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 86.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 96.6 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 90.6 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 86.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 77.0 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 79.4 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 64.9% |
| 2016/17 | 65.2% |
| 2017/18 | 74.0% |
| 2018/19 | 63.7% |
| 2019/20 | 72.9% |
| 2020/21 | 79.5% |
| 2021/22 | 72.7% |
| 2022/23 | 68.5% |
| 2023/24 | 69.9% |
| 2024/25 | 64.1% |
| 2025/26 | 69.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.2 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.7 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,290 |
| 2017 | 6,450 |
| 2018 | 6,390 |
| 2019 | 6,495 |
| 2020 | 6,540 |
| 2021 | 6,560 |
| 2022 | 6,660 |
| 2023 | 6,700 |
| 2024 | 6,695 |
| 2025 | 6,775 |
| 2026 | 6,865 |
Questions about Canterbury
What is the average salary in Canterbury?
£735.00 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of Canterbury?
162,612 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the crime rate in Canterbury?
79.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average house price in Canterbury?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £337,454.
What is life expectancy in Canterbury?
83.7 years for women and 79.9 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
How much is Band D council tax in Canterbury?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,419.33 for 2026-27.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Canterbury?
The ONS claimant count was 3,200 in August 2026, 3.2% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
Who has power over Canterbury
Every body that makes decisions for Canterbury, 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
- Canterbury council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Canterbury 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
- Canterbury: Rosie Duffield (Independent) MP
- Herne Bay and Sandwich: Sir Roger Gale (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: Kent Police recorded some offences without a partnership area, so Kent figures may be lower than the full count. 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: UK employment rate · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK population
- Other council areas in the South East: Mid Sussex · Oxford · Reigate and Banstead · Swale · West Berkshire · Windsor and Maidenhead
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.