Dudley: local statistics
Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, home to an estimated 333,941 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 Dudley, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Dudley is £2,144.84, 5.2% more than in 2025-26. It is the lowest in the West Midlands. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,337.82.
The claimant count for Dudley stood at 9,375 in August 2026, or 4.6% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the West Midlands was 5.3%. The rate was the same a year earlier. Over the last five years it peaked at 6.1% in August 2021 and was lowest at 4.4% in May 2024.
The ONS counted 11,700 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Dudley in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. There are 35 per 1,000 residents, 22nd of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Dudley took home £707.10 a week before tax, or £35,486 over a year. It is 23rd of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest, and 3.3% less than across the West Midlands. The workplace figure, £706.00, is within £5 of it. In 2015 the residents' median was £495.60, so it has risen 43% before inflation.
In mid-2025 the population of Dudley was estimated at 333,941, up 0.8% on mid-2024. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +5.5%, against +7.8% for the West Midlands as a whole. That is the 21st fastest growth of 30 in the West Midlands. No earlier year in the series was higher.
A typical home in Dudley cost £232,196 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 3.5% in twelve months. It ranks as close to the middle of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands (18th highest) (regional average £250,880). This July figure is the highest in the series, 60% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Dudley (£35,486) gives a ratio of 6.5. That ratio is mid-table in the West Midlands, 15th of 30.
The police recorded 74.1 crimes per 1,000 residents in Dudley in the year to March 2026 (24,742 offences in all), 9th of 22 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest rate. A year earlier it was 75.8. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 53.6 to 93.9 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Life expectancy at birth in Dudley is 83.0 years for women and 78.9 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.1 years for women and -0.2 for men. It is close to the middle of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands (17th highest for women).
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 75.6% of Dudley residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 3.7 points), against 73.6% across the West Midlands. Its lowest reading in the series was 68.4% and its highest 78.7%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 316,393 |
| 2016 | 317,669 |
| 2017 | 319,539 |
| 2018 | 320,989 |
| 2019 | 322,090 |
| 2020 | 322,513 |
| 2021 | 323,591 |
| 2022 | 325,265 |
| 2023 | 327,845 |
| 2024 | 331,239 |
| 2025 | 333,941 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £145,202 |
| July 2017 | £152,253 |
| July 2018 | £160,710 |
| July 2019 | £168,219 |
| July 2020 | £174,230 |
| July 2021 | £191,859 |
| July 2022 | £213,415 |
| July 2023 | £215,595 |
| July 2024 | £221,237 |
| July 2025 | £224,442 |
| July 2026 | £232,196 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £495.60 a week |
| 2016 | £507.80 a week |
| 2017 | £517.70 a week |
| 2018 | £527.00 a week |
| 2019 | £571.80 a week |
| 2020 | £563.40 a week |
| 2021 | £589.10 a week |
| 2022 | £617.60 a week |
| 2023 | £622.90 a week |
| 2024 | £678.60 a week |
| 2025 | £707.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,337.82 |
| 2017-18 | £1,390.61 |
| 2018-19 | £1,458.92 |
| 2019-20 | £1,541.75 |
| 2020-21 | £1,605.96 |
| 2021-22 | £1,691.10 |
| 2022-23 | £1,749.45 |
| 2023-24 | £1,843.97 |
| 2024-25 | £1,937.46 |
| 2025-26 | £2,038.57 |
| 2026-27 | £2,144.84 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 53.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 59.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 67.1 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 73.7 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 72.8 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 75.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 93.9 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 90.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 81.0 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 75.8 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 74.1 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 69.4% |
| 2016/17 | 68.4% |
| 2017/18 | 70.3% |
| 2018/19 | 70.6% |
| 2019/20 | 73.7% |
| 2020/21 | 72.5% |
| 2021/22 | 78.7% |
| 2022/23 | 76.5% |
| 2023/24 | 76.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73.7% |
| 2025/26 | 75.6% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.1 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.9 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.9 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.9 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.8 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 11,215 |
| 2017 | 11,420 |
| 2018 | 11,275 |
| 2019 | 11,380 |
| 2020 | 11,685 |
| 2021 | 11,940 |
| 2022 | 11,865 |
| 2023 | 11,670 |
| 2024 | 11,530 |
| 2025 | 11,600 |
| 2026 | 11,700 |
Questions about Dudley
How much is Band D council tax in Dudley?
£2,144.84 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 Dudley?
The ONS claimant count was 9,375 in August 2026, 4.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Dudley?
£707.10 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of Dudley?
The ONS estimates 333,941 people lived in Dudley in mid-2025.
What is the average house price in Dudley?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £232,196.
What is the crime rate in Dudley?
74.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is life expectancy in Dudley?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 78.9 years for men and 83.0 for women.
Who has power over Dudley
Every body that makes decisions for Dudley, 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
- Dudley council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Dudley 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
- Dudley: Sonia Kumar (Labour) MP
- Halesowen: Alex Ballinger (Labour) MP
- Kingswinford and South Staffordshire: Mike Wood (Conservative) MP
- Stourbridge: Cat Eccles (Labour) MP
- Tipton and Wednesbury: Antonia Bance (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: 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 West Midlands
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK population
- Other council areas in the West Midlands: Coventry · Sandwell · Shropshire · Stoke-on-Trent · Walsall · Wolverhampton
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.