Cheshire West and Chester: local statistics
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority in the North West, home to an estimated 373,951 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 Cheshire West and Chester, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Homes in Cheshire West and Chester sold for an average of £270,104 in July 2026, a rise of 5.8% in twelve months. That is the 5th highest of the 35 council areas in the North West; the average for the North West was £221,445. Prices are 48% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 6.5 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Cheshire West and Chester. That ratio is the 8th highest ratio of 35 in the North West.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 81.0% of Cheshire West and Chester residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.1 points either way; the figure for the North West was 73.8%. Its lowest reading in the series was 69.8% and its highest 81.4%.
Life expectancy at birth in Cheshire West and Chester is 83.7 years for women and 79.6 years for men (2022 to 2024) (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.4 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.2 more. It is the 5th highest for women of the 35 council areas in the North West.
The ONS counted 16,450 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Cheshire West and Chester in March 2026, about the same as in 2016. That is 44 for every 1,000 residents, the 12th highest of 35 in the North West.
Full-time employees living in Cheshire West and Chester earned a median £798.40 a week in April 2025 (£41,486 a year). That is 8.7% above the figure for the North West and 7th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £729.70, £68.70 lower. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £525.50: a change of +52% before inflation.
In August 2026, 6,020 people in Cheshire West and Chester were on the claimant count, 2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the North West: 4.2%). That compares with 2.5% a year before. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.7% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.4% in January 2024.
In the year to March 2026, 24,822 offences were recorded by police in Cheshire West and Chester: 66.4 per 1,000 people, the 26th highest rate of the 35 council areas in the North West. A year earlier it was 66.9. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 49.7 to 83.3 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Cheshire West and Chester had an estimated 373,951 residents in mid-2025, a change of +0.8% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +10.3%, against +8.2% for the North West as a whole. That is the 11th fastest growth of 35 in the North West. No earlier year in the series was higher.
Average Band D council tax in Cheshire West and Chester is £2,517.33 for 2026-27, up £125.30 on 2025-26. It is 12th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,583.78.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 339,181 |
| 2016 | 342,424 |
| 2017 | 346,040 |
| 2018 | 350,076 |
| 2019 | 353,362 |
| 2020 | 354,738 |
| 2021 | 357,730 |
| 2022 | 361,841 |
| 2023 | 366,508 |
| 2024 | 370,951 |
| 2025 | 373,951 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £182,222 |
| July 2017 | £185,866 |
| July 2018 | £190,627 |
| July 2019 | £194,672 |
| July 2020 | £197,246 |
| July 2021 | £222,143 |
| July 2022 | £241,753 |
| July 2023 | £247,163 |
| July 2024 | £249,199 |
| July 2025 | £255,326 |
| July 2026 | £270,104 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £525.50 a week |
| 2016 | £548.10 a week |
| 2017 | £554.80 a week |
| 2018 | £562.60 a week |
| 2019 | £611.30 a week |
| 2020 | £601.20 a week |
| 2021 | £608.80 a week |
| 2022 | £650.50 a week |
| 2023 | £696.30 a week |
| 2024 | £753.20 a week |
| 2025 | £798.40 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,583.78 |
| 2017-18 | £1,644.71 |
| 2018-19 | £1,729.22 |
| 2019-20 | £1,829.19 |
| 2020-21 | £1,902.42 |
| 2021-22 | £1,998.41 |
| 2022-23 | £2,061.04 |
| 2023-24 | £2,169.45 |
| 2024-25 | £2,277.08 |
| 2025-26 | £2,392.03 |
| 2026-27 | £2,517.33 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 49.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 61.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 77.9 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 83.3 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 81.7 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 71.8 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 80.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 76.1 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 68.7 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 66.9 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 66.4 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 72.6% |
| 2016/17 | 73.5% |
| 2017/18 | 74.8% |
| 2018/19 | 75.6% |
| 2019/20 | 77.8% |
| 2020/21 | 79.5% |
| 2021/22 | 78.4% |
| 2022/23 | 69.8% |
| 2023/24 | 77.7% |
| 2024/25 | 81.4% |
| 2025/26 | 81.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.8 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.4 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.5 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.7 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 16,400 |
| 2017 | 16,770 |
| 2018 | 16,865 |
| 2019 | 17,020 |
| 2020 | 16,835 |
| 2021 | 16,680 |
| 2022 | 16,415 |
| 2023 | 16,065 |
| 2024 | 16,080 |
| 2025 | 16,170 |
| 2026 | 16,450 |
Questions about Cheshire West and Chester
What is the average house price in Cheshire West and Chester?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £270,104.
What is life expectancy in Cheshire West and Chester?
83.7 years for women and 79.6 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average salary in Cheshire West and Chester?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Cheshire West and Chester was £798.40 a week in April 2025 (£41,486 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Cheshire West and Chester?
6,020 in August 2026 (2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the crime rate in Cheshire West and Chester?
Home Office figures show 24,822 offences in the year to March 2026, or 66.4 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the population of Cheshire West and Chester?
The ONS estimates 373,951 people lived in Cheshire West and Chester in mid-2025.
How much is Band D council tax in Cheshire West and Chester?
£2,517.33 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
Who has power over Cheshire West and Chester
Every body that makes decisions for Cheshire West and Chester, 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
- Cheshire West and Chester council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Cheshire West and Chester 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
- Chester North and Neston: Samantha Dixon (Labour) MP
- Chester South and Eddisbury: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative) MP
- Ellesmere Port and Bromborough: Justin Madders (Labour) MP
- Mid Cheshire: Andrew Cooper (Labour) MP
- Runcorn and Helsby: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK) MP
- Tatton: Esther McVey (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 North West
- UK figures: UK average house price · UK employment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the North West: Bolton · Cheshire East · Salford · Stockport · Wigan · Wirral
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.