Cheltenham: local statistics
Cheltenham is a district council area in the South West, home to an estimated 121,452 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 Cheltenham, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Cheltenham took home £817.50 a week before tax, or £41,399 over a year. It is the 2nd highest in the South West, and 11.4% more than across the South West. Jobs based in Cheltenham paid a median £809.80 a week, £7.70 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £541.10: a change of +51% before inflation.
Cheltenham had an estimated 121,452 residents in mid-2025, a change of -0.0% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +3.2%, against +8.0% for the South West as a whole, the 3rd slowest growth in the South West. The series peaked at 121,461 in mid-2024.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Cheltenham is £2,369.52, up £111.24 on 2025-26. That makes it 24th of 27 in the South West, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,541.24, so it has risen 54%.
2.7% of Cheltenham residents aged 16 to 64 (2,095 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026 (the South West: 2.7%). A year earlier the rate was 2.8%. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.7% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.2% in November 2022.
A typical home in Cheltenham cost £322,758 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, up 0.3% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it mid-table in the South West, 11th of 26; the average for the South West was £302,298. Since July 2016 prices have risen 36%; the July high in the series was £327,655 in 2024. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Cheltenham (£41,399) gives a ratio of 7.8. That ratio is the 17th highest ratio of the 26 council areas in the South West.
Police recorded 9,702 crimes in Cheltenham in the year to March 2026, 79.9 for every 1,000 residents, the 8th highest rate of 19 in the South West. That compares with 78.6 per 1,000 the year before. In the year to March 2016 it was 60.2 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Cheltenham had a life expectancy at birth of 84.0 years; for men it was 80.0, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.1 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 less. It is close to the middle of the 26 council areas in the South West (15th highest for women).
The ONS counted 6,410 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Cheltenham in March 2026, 3% more than in 2016. That is 53 for every 1,000 residents, the 8th highest of 27 in the South West.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 79.3% of Cheltenham residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 6.3 points); the figure for the South West was 79.0%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 75.2% to 85.2%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 117,693 |
| 2016 | 118,953 |
| 2017 | 119,303 |
| 2018 | 119,600 |
| 2019 | 119,459 |
| 2020 | 118,924 |
| 2021 | 118,838 |
| 2022 | 119,521 |
| 2023 | 120,759 |
| 2024 | 121,461 |
| 2025 | 121,452 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £238,024 |
| July 2017 | £257,994 |
| July 2018 | £265,840 |
| July 2019 | £263,100 |
| July 2020 | £268,658 |
| July 2021 | £287,746 |
| July 2022 | £322,890 |
| July 2023 | £327,594 |
| July 2024 | £327,655 |
| July 2025 | £321,831 |
| July 2026 | £322,758 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £541.10 a week |
| 2016 | £544.70 a week |
| 2017 | £565.40 a week |
| 2018 | £625.80 a week |
| 2019 | £636.30 a week |
| 2020 | £643.90 a week |
| 2021 | £657.40 a week |
| 2022 | £726.80 a week |
| 2023 | £697.60 a week |
| 2024 | £750.90 a week |
| 2025 | £817.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,541.24 |
| 2017-18 | £1,595.72 |
| 2018-19 | £1,667.70 |
| 2019-20 | £1,759.78 |
| 2020-21 | £1,823.49 |
| 2021-22 | £1,906.22 |
| 2022-23 | £1,964.26 |
| 2023-24 | £2,059.43 |
| 2024-25 | £2,156.86 |
| 2025-26 | £2,258.28 |
| 2026-27 | £2,369.52 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 60.2 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 65.3 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 70.5 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 68.6 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 77.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 65.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 87.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 103.7 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 96.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 78.6 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 79.9 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 75.2% |
| 2016/17 | 81.7% |
| 2017/18 | 84.8% |
| 2018/19 | 82.5% |
| 2019/20 | 83.0% |
| 2020/21 | 77.2% |
| 2021/22 | 85.2% |
| 2022/23 | 82.7% |
| 2023/24 | 81.4% |
| 2024/25 | 80.1% |
| 2025/26 | 79.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.9 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.4 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.5 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.7 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,195 |
| 2017 | 6,405 |
| 2018 | 6,380 |
| 2019 | 6,460 |
| 2020 | 6,530 |
| 2021 | 6,390 |
| 2022 | 6,265 |
| 2023 | 6,185 |
| 2024 | 6,260 |
| 2025 | 6,285 |
| 2026 | 6,410 |
Questions about Cheltenham
What is the average salary in Cheltenham?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Cheltenham was £817.50 a week in April 2025 (£41,399 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Cheltenham?
121,452 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How much is Band D council tax in Cheltenham?
£2,369.52 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Cheltenham?
The ONS claimant count was 2,095 in August 2026, 2.7% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average house price in Cheltenham?
£322,758 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+0.3% on a year).
What is the crime rate in Cheltenham?
79.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is life expectancy in Cheltenham?
84.0 years for women and 80.0 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Cheltenham
Every body that makes decisions for Cheltenham, 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
- Cheltenham council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Cheltenham 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
- Cheltenham: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Tewkesbury: Cameron Thomas (Independent) 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 West
- UK figures: UK average weekly earnings growth · UK population · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South West: Exeter · Gloucester · Stroud · Teignbridge · Tewkesbury · Torbay
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the unemployment rate 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.