Central Bedfordshire: local statistics
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the East of England, home to an estimated 321,605 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 Central Bedfordshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
321,605 people lived in Central Bedfordshire in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 1.8% on mid-2024. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 18.7%, against +8.5% for the East of England as a whole, the fastest growth in the East of England. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
14,040 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Central Bedfordshire in March 2026, 2% more than in 2016. There are 44 per 1,000 residents, 31st of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Central Bedfordshire is £2,516.16, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 4th highest of the 45 council areas in the East of England. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,725.44, so it has risen 46%.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 85.4% of Central Bedfordshire residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 3.5 points either way, against 78.3% across the East of England. Its lowest reading in the series was 78.6% and its highest 85.4%.
Police recorded 14,940 crimes in Central Bedfordshire in the year to March 2026, 46.5 for every 1,000 residents, 35th of 42 in the East of England, counting from the highest rate. That compares with 50.3 per 1,000 the year before. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 46.5 to 67.4 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The median full-time employee living in Central Bedfordshire was paid £868.70 a week before tax in April 2025, or £43,645 over a year. It is the 15th highest of 45 in the East of England, and 7.9% more than across the East of England. For full-time jobs located in Central Bedfordshire the median is £772.50 a week (−£96.20 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £579.30: a change of +50% before inflation.
A typical home in Central Bedfordshire cost £356,758 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 1.2% in twelve months. It ranks as mid-table in the East of England, 19th of 45 (regional average £337,518). This July figure is the highest in the series, 28% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Central Bedfordshire (£43,645) gives a ratio of 8.2. That ratio is close to the middle of the 45 council areas in the East of England (27th highest ratio).
In August 2026, 5,150 people in Central Bedfordshire were on the claimant count, 2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the East of England: 3.3%). That compares with 2.5% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 2.0% (January 2023) and 3.2% (August 2021).
Life expectancy at birth in Central Bedfordshire is 84.2 years for women and 80.6 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.6 years for women and -0.6 for men. It is mid-table in the East of England, 22nd of 45.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 270,962 |
| 2016 | 274,909 |
| 2017 | 277,655 |
| 2018 | 280,414 |
| 2019 | 284,688 |
| 2020 | 289,105 |
| 2021 | 295,651 |
| 2022 | 302,158 |
| 2023 | 309,755 |
| 2024 | 316,062 |
| 2025 | 321,605 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £278,464 |
| July 2017 | £299,385 |
| July 2018 | £302,126 |
| July 2019 | £293,388 |
| July 2020 | £297,194 |
| July 2021 | £304,110 |
| July 2022 | £340,016 |
| July 2023 | £336,417 |
| July 2024 | £333,123 |
| July 2025 | £352,419 |
| July 2026 | £356,758 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £579.30 a week |
| 2016 | £590.90 a week |
| 2017 | £605.70 a week |
| 2018 | £604.30 a week |
| 2019 | £650.40 a week |
| 2020 | £663.00 a week |
| 2021 | £680.60 a week |
| 2022 | £748.00 a week |
| 2023 | £787.70 a week |
| 2024 | £829.20 a week |
| 2025 | £868.70 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,725.44 |
| 2017-18 | £1,795.33 |
| 2018-19 | £1,876.22 |
| 2019-20 | £1,921.20 |
| 2020-21 | £1,996.19 |
| 2021-22 | £2,093.05 |
| 2022-23 | £2,142.09 |
| 2023-24 | £2,169.76 |
| 2024-25 | £2,275.55 |
| 2025-26 | £2,394.14 |
| 2026-27 | £2,516.16 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 49.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 50.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 56.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 67.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 64.2 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 51.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 53.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 52.7 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 51.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 50.3 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 46.5 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 78.6% |
| 2016/17 | 81.9% |
| 2017/18 | 82.4% |
| 2018/19 | 83.7% |
| 2019/20 | 80.7% |
| 2020/21 | 79.6% |
| 2021/22 | 80.9% |
| 2022/23 | 80.8% |
| 2023/24 | 82.8% |
| 2024/25 | 80.8% |
| 2025/26 | 85.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.6 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.5 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.9 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.8 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 13,755 |
| 2017 | 16,840 |
| 2018 | 14,205 |
| 2019 | 14,940 |
| 2020 | 13,615 |
| 2021 | 13,500 |
| 2022 | 13,655 |
| 2023 | 13,515 |
| 2024 | 13,835 |
| 2025 | 13,830 |
| 2026 | 14,040 |
Questions about Central Bedfordshire
What is the population of Central Bedfordshire?
The ONS estimates 321,605 people lived in Central Bedfordshire in mid-2025.
How much is Band D council tax in Central Bedfordshire?
£2,516.16 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the crime rate in Central Bedfordshire?
Home Office figures show 14,940 offences in the year to March 2026, or 46.5 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average salary in Central Bedfordshire?
£868.70 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the average house price in Central Bedfordshire?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £356,758.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Central Bedfordshire?
The ONS claimant count was 5,150 in August 2026, 2.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in Central Bedfordshire?
84.2 years for women and 80.6 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Central Bedfordshire
Every body that makes decisions for Central Bedfordshire, 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
- Central Bedfordshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Central Bedfordshire 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
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard: Alex Mayer (Labour) MP
- Hitchin: Alistair Strathern (Labour) MP
- Luton South and South Bedfordshire: Rachel Hopkins (Labour) MP
- Mid Bedfordshire: Blake Stephenson (Conservative) MP
- North Bedfordshire: Richard Fuller (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 · UK employment rate · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the East of England: Basildon · Bedford · Colchester · East Suffolk · Luton · Peterborough
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in 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.