Dover: local statistics
Dover is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 121,055 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 Dover, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Dover at £277,750 for July 2026, up 2.7% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it 57th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest (regional average £380,878). Since July 2016 prices have risen 31%; the July high in the series was £309,940 in 2023. The average price is 6.9 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Dover. That ratio is the 60th highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
4,400 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Dover in March 2026, 11% more than in 2016. That is 36 for every 1,000 residents, the 3rd lowest of all 64 council areas in the South East.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Dover had a life expectancy at birth of 83.6 years; for men it was 79.0, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.9 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 less. It is the 47th highest for women of all 64 council areas in the South East.
In the year to March 2026, 9,153 offences were recorded by police in Dover: 75.6 per 1,000 people, the 16th highest rate of all 55 council areas in the South East. A year earlier it was 82.2. In the year to March 2016 it was 58.0 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Full-time employees living in Dover earned a median £766.90 a week in April 2025, or £40,142 over a year. It is the 42nd highest of all 64 council areas in the South East, and 5.9% less than across the South East. Jobs based in Dover paid a median £731.40 a week, £35.50 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £497.70: a change of +54% before inflation.
3.3% of Dover residents aged 16 to 64 (2,300 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.1% in the South East. The rate was the same a year earlier. The five-year high was 5.1% (August 2021); the low was 3.2% (September 2025).
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 76.2% of Dover residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 7.2 points), against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 67.1% to 79.0%.
A Band D home in Dover pays an average of £2,461.74 in council tax in 2026-27, up £97.29 on 2025-26. That makes it mid-table in the South East, 37th of 64. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,592.00.
121,055 people lived in Dover in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 1.0% on a year earlier. That is 8,591 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 7.6%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years, mid-table in the South East, 32nd of 64. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 112,464 |
| 2016 | 113,365 |
| 2017 | 114,335 |
| 2018 | 115,148 |
| 2019 | 115,902 |
| 2020 | 116,134 |
| 2021 | 116,549 |
| 2022 | 117,514 |
| 2023 | 118,950 |
| 2024 | 119,805 |
| 2025 | 121,055 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £211,625 |
| July 2017 | £229,466 |
| July 2018 | £240,373 |
| July 2019 | £249,691 |
| July 2020 | £246,843 |
| July 2021 | £264,128 |
| July 2022 | £295,832 |
| July 2023 | £309,940 |
| July 2024 | £277,929 |
| July 2025 | £270,387 |
| July 2026 | £277,750 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £497.70 a week |
| 2016 | £501.40 a week |
| 2017 | £523.00 a week |
| 2018 | £574.60 a week |
| 2019 | £594.50 a week |
| 2020 | £610.60 a week |
| 2021 | £642.50 a week |
| 2022 | £675.10 a week |
| 2023 | £676.00 a week |
| 2024 | £738.30 a week |
| 2025 | £766.90 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,592 |
| 2017-18 | £1,649.27 |
| 2018-19 | £1,727.47 |
| 2019-20 | £1,822.82 |
| 2020-21 | £1,894.39 |
| 2021-22 | £1,986 |
| 2022-23 | £2,049.81 |
| 2023-24 | £2,150.91 |
| 2024-25 | £2,253.49 |
| 2025-26 | £2,364.45 |
| 2026-27 | £2,461.74 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 58.0 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 64.3 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 96.6 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 107.2 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 95.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 86.9 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 93.3 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 92.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 86.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 82.2 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 75.6 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 72.4% |
| 2016/17 | 76.9% |
| 2017/18 | 78.0% |
| 2018/19 | 79.0% |
| 2019/20 | 71.2% |
| 2020/21 | 74.8% |
| 2021/22 | 72.9% |
| 2022/23 | 74.3% |
| 2023/24 | 67.1% |
| 2024/25 | 71.5% |
| 2025/26 | 76.2% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.7 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.7 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.5 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.2 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 3,975 |
| 2017 | 4,095 |
| 2018 | 4,080 |
| 2019 | 4,210 |
| 2020 | 4,280 |
| 2021 | 4,390 |
| 2022 | 4,420 |
| 2023 | 4,305 |
| 2024 | 4,400 |
| 2025 | 4,370 |
| 2026 | 4,400 |
Questions about Dover
What is the average house price in Dover?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £277,750.
What is life expectancy in Dover?
83.6 years for women and 79.0 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Dover?
75.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average salary in Dover?
£766.90 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Dover?
The ONS claimant count was 2,300 in August 2026, 3.3% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Dover?
£2,461.74 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the population of Dover?
The ONS estimates 121,055 people lived in Dover in mid-2025.
Who has power over Dover
Every body that makes decisions for Dover, 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
- Dover council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Dover 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
- Dover and Deal: Mike Tapp (Labour) MP
- Herne Bay and Sandwich: Sir Roger Gale (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: Kent Police recorded some offences without a partnership area, so Kent figures may be lower than the full count. 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 East
- UK figures: UK average house price · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the South East: Crawley · Dartford · Fareham · Sevenoaks · Tunbridge Wells · West Oxfordshire
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.