Cumberland: local statistics
Cumberland is a unitary authority in the North West, home to an estimated 282,343 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 Cumberland, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Cumberland had an estimated 282,343 residents in mid-2025, up 0.8% on mid-2024. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +3.0% (the North West: +8.2%). That is 32nd of 35 in the North West, counting from the fastest growth. No earlier year in the series was higher.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Cumberland at £170,966 for July 2026, up 3.3% on July 2025. It ranks as 30th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest (regional average £221,445). Prices are 41% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Cumberland (£42,461) gives a ratio of 4.0. That ratio is the lowest ratio in the North West.
Full-time employees living in Cumberland earned a median £799.50 a week in April 2025, or £42,461 over a year. It is the 6th highest of all 35 council areas in the North West, and 8.8% more than across the North West. For full-time jobs located in Cumberland the median is £811.10 a week (+£11.60 on the residents' figure).
In August 2026, 4,150 people in Cumberland were on the claimant count, 2.5% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 4.2% in the North West. That compares with 2.3% a year before. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.9% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.3% in September 2025.
12,930 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Cumberland in March 2026, 9% fewer than in 2016. There are 46 per 1,000 residents, 9th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest.
A Band D home in Cumberland pays an average of £2,511.32 in council tax in 2026-27, 4.9% more than in 2025-26. That makes it 14th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest.
The police recorded 73.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Cumberland in the year to March 2026 (20,837 offences in all), close to the middle of all 35 council areas in the North West (21st highest rate). A year earlier it was 75.7. In the year to March 2016 it was 57.4 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 75.3% of Cumberland residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.2 points either way, against 73.8% across the North West. Its lowest reading in the series was 73.7% and its highest 83.0%.
Life expectancy at birth in Cumberland is 81.7 years for women and 77.8 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.4 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.7 less. It is mid-table in the North West, 18th of 35.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 274,195 |
| 2016 | 274,192 |
| 2017 | 273,458 |
| 2018 | 273,256 |
| 2019 | 273,009 |
| 2020 | 272,444 |
| 2021 | 273,788 |
| 2022 | 275,274 |
| 2023 | 277,799 |
| 2024 | 280,014 |
| 2025 | 282,343 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £121,585 |
| July 2017 | £125,368 |
| July 2018 | £128,411 |
| July 2019 | £126,708 |
| July 2020 | £129,054 |
| July 2021 | £142,375 |
| July 2022 | £155,279 |
| July 2023 | £153,868 |
| July 2024 | £158,988 |
| July 2025 | £165,536 |
| July 2026 | £170,966 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2022 | £642.50 a week |
| 2023 | £681.60 a week |
| 2024 | £755.30 a week |
| 2025 | £799.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2023-24 | £2,174.56 |
| 2024-25 | £2,283.83 |
| 2025-26 | £2,393.90 |
| 2026-27 | £2,511.32 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 57.4 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 55.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 64.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 81.7 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 83.9 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 68.1 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 82.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 83.1 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 74.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 75.7 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 73.8 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 76.3% |
| 2016/17 | 73.7% |
| 2017/18 | 74.1% |
| 2018/19 | 78.9% |
| 2019/20 | 79.8% |
| 2020/21 | 76.1% |
| 2021/22 | 77.3% |
| 2022/23 | 77.1% |
| 2023/24 | 83.0% |
| 2024/25 | 78.5% |
| 2025/26 | 75.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.1 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.2 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.0 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.3 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.1 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.7 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 14,175 |
| 2017 | 14,240 |
| 2018 | 14,095 |
| 2019 | 14,125 |
| 2020 | 14,025 |
| 2021 | 13,900 |
| 2022 | 13,700 |
| 2023 | 13,355 |
| 2024 | 13,470 |
| 2025 | 12,795 |
| 2026 | 12,930 |
Questions about Cumberland
What is the population of Cumberland?
The ONS estimates 282,343 people lived in Cumberland in mid-2025.
What is the average house price in Cumberland?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £170,966.
What is the average salary in Cumberland?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Cumberland was £799.50 a week in April 2025 (£42,461 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Cumberland?
The ONS claimant count was 4,150 in August 2026, 2.5% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Cumberland?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,511.32 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Cumberland?
73.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is life expectancy in Cumberland?
81.7 years for women and 77.8 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Cumberland
Every body that makes decisions for Cumberland, 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
- Cumberland council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Cumberland 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
- Barrow and Furness: Michelle Scrogham (Labour) MP
- Carlisle: Ms Julie Minns (Labour) MP
- Penrith and Solway: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour) MP
- Whitehaven and Workington: Josh MacAlister (Labour) 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: Sum of the former Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland partnerships, which make up this council area. 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 population · UK average house price · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in the North West: Bolton · Oldham · Salford · Sefton · Stockport · Trafford
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average house price in 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.