Colchester: local statistics
Colchester is a district council area in the East of England, home to an estimated 201,163 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 Colchester, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Average Band D council tax in Colchester is £2,282.85 for 2026-27, up £90.77 on 2025-26. That makes it the 39th highest of the 45 council areas in the East of England. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,548.23.
Homes in Colchester sold for an average of £297,824 in July 2026, down 0.5% on July 2025. It ranks as the 33rd highest of the 45 council areas in the East of England; the average for the East of England was £337,518. Since July 2016 prices have risen 26%; the July high in the series was £303,552 in 2022. The average price is 7.6 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Colchester. That ratio is the 35th highest ratio of 45 in the East of England.
The police recorded 82.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Colchester in the year to March 2026 (16,534 offences in all), 13th of 42 in the East of England, counting from the highest rate. The rate was 79.3 in the year to March 2025. The highest rate in the series was 99.0, in the year to March 2020. Fraud is not included.
An estimated 74.3% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Colchester were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 6.0 points), against 78.3% across the East of England. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.5% and its highest 80.0%.
The ONS estimates that 201,163 people lived in Colchester in mid-2025, up 0.7% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 9.8%; the East of England grew by 8.5% over the same years, 16th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the fastest growth. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
In March 2026, 8,710 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Colchester, 8% more than in 2016. There are 43 per 1,000 residents, 33rd of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Colchester was £766.60 in April 2025 (£39,353 a year). It is 29th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest, and 4.8% less than across the East of England. For full-time jobs located in Colchester the median is £753.40 a week (−£13.20 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £530.50: a change of +45% before inflation.
The claimant count for Colchester stood at 4,005 in August 2026, or 3.2% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the East of England was 3.3%. That compares with 3.0% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 2.6% (October 2022) and 4.1% (August 2021).
In 2022 to 2024, women in Colchester had a life expectancy at birth of 83.9 years; for men it was 80.1, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.5 years for women and +0.2 for men. It is close to the middle of the 45 council areas in the East of England (27th highest for women).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 183,242 |
| 2016 | 185,361 |
| 2017 | 187,177 |
| 2018 | 189,101 |
| 2019 | 190,470 |
| 2020 | 191,979 |
| 2021 | 192,658 |
| 2022 | 194,696 |
| 2023 | 198,691 |
| 2024 | 199,730 |
| 2025 | 201,163 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £235,689 |
| July 2017 | £256,754 |
| July 2018 | £259,745 |
| July 2019 | £261,489 |
| July 2020 | £256,363 |
| July 2021 | £271,135 |
| July 2022 | £303,552 |
| July 2023 | £299,388 |
| July 2024 | £293,713 |
| July 2025 | £299,277 |
| July 2026 | £297,824 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £530.50 a week |
| 2016 | £566.40 a week |
| 2017 | £581.30 a week |
| 2018 | £574.90 a week |
| 2019 | £602.70 a week |
| 2020 | £600.10 a week |
| 2021 | £590.20 a week |
| 2022 | £706.60 a week |
| 2023 | £726.20 a week |
| 2024 | £771.30 a week |
| 2025 | £766.60 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,548.23 |
| 2017-18 | £1,595.25 |
| 2018-19 | £1,674.49 |
| 2019-20 | £1,756.41 |
| 2020-21 | £1,821.95 |
| 2021-22 | £1,857.31 |
| 2022-23 | £1,934.23 |
| 2023-24 | £2,011.41 |
| 2024-25 | £2,107.30 |
| 2025-26 | £2,192.08 |
| 2026-27 | £2,282.85 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 65.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 68.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 81.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 93.7 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 99.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 84.3 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 98.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 94.7 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 84.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 79.3 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 82.2 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 78.0% |
| 2016/17 | 76.0% |
| 2017/18 | 80.0% |
| 2018/19 | 76.3% |
| 2019/20 | 71.5% |
| 2020/21 | 75.4% |
| 2021/22 | 75.8% |
| 2022/23 | 77.9% |
| 2023/24 | 79.0% |
| 2024/25 | 75.1% |
| 2025/26 | 74.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.4 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.5 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,070 |
| 2017 | 8,265 |
| 2018 | 8,315 |
| 2019 | 8,460 |
| 2020 | 8,750 |
| 2021 | 8,795 |
| 2022 | 8,650 |
| 2023 | 8,640 |
| 2024 | 8,595 |
| 2025 | 8,590 |
| 2026 | 8,710 |
Questions about Colchester
How much is Band D council tax in Colchester?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,282.85 for 2026-27.
What is the average house price in Colchester?
£297,824 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-0.5% on a year).
What is the crime rate in Colchester?
Home Office figures show 16,534 offences in the year to March 2026, or 82.2 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the population of Colchester?
201,163 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average salary in Colchester?
£766.60 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Colchester?
The ONS claimant count was 4,005 in August 2026, 3.2% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in Colchester?
83.9 years for women and 80.1 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Colchester
Every body that makes decisions for Colchester, 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
- Colchester council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Colchester 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
- Colchester: Pam Cox (Labour) MP
- Harwich and North Essex: Sir Bernard Jenkin (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 average house price · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK employment rate
- Other council areas in the East of England: Basildon · Bedford · Chelmsford · Huntingdonshire · Southend-on-Sea · West Suffolk
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.