Dumfries and Galloway: local statistics
Dumfries and Galloway is a council area in Scotland, home to an estimated 145,490 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 8 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Dumfries and Galloway, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In mid-2025 the population of Dumfries and Galloway was estimated at 145,490, a change of -0.3% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is -2.2%, against +3.6% for Scotland as a whole. That is the 3rd slowest growth of all 32 council areas in Scotland. The mid-2025 estimate is the lowest in the series.
The median full-time employee living in Dumfries and Galloway was paid £722.50 a week before tax in April 2025, or £34,895 over a year. It is 29th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest, and 6.8% less than across Scotland. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £700.70, £21.80 lower. In 2015 the residents' median was £458.20, so it has risen 58% before inflation.
An estimated 78.8% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Dumfries and Galloway were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 4.4 points either way; the figure for Scotland was 74.6%. Its lowest reading in the series was 65.5% and its highest 78.8%.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Dumfries and Galloway at £169,511 for July 2026, a rise of 4.6% in twelve months. That is 22nd of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest; the average for Scotland was £196,349. This July figure is the highest in the series, 53% up on July 2016. The average price is 4.9 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Dumfries and Galloway. That ratio is mid-table in Scotland, 14th of 32.
In March 2026, 7,680 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Dumfries and Galloway, about the same as in 2016. There are 53 per 1,000 residents, the 7th highest of 32 in Scotland.
2.9% of Dumfries and Galloway residents aged 16 to 64 (2,390 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for Scotland was 3.2%. Twelve months before, it was 2.7%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 2.6% (December 2025) and 4.4% (August 2021).
A girl born in Dumfries and Galloway in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.2 years and a boy 77.2 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 81.1 and 77.2 years across Scotland. For women that is 0.2 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.8 less. It is mid-table in Scotland, 18th of 32.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 148,820 |
| 2016 | 148,390 |
| 2017 | 147,810 |
| 2018 | 146,990 |
| 2019 | 146,810 |
| 2020 | 146,090 |
| 2021 | 146,250 |
| 2022 | 145,770 |
| 2023 | 146,040 |
| 2024 | 145,930 |
| 2025 | 145,490 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £111,007 |
| July 2017 | £118,139 |
| July 2018 | £117,989 |
| July 2019 | £124,995 |
| July 2020 | £120,610 |
| July 2021 | £139,350 |
| July 2022 | £157,152 |
| July 2023 | £154,762 |
| July 2024 | £159,559 |
| July 2025 | £162,078 |
| July 2026 | £169,511 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £458.20 a week |
| 2016 | £462.00 a week |
| 2017 | £460.00 a week |
| 2018 | £477.30 a week |
| 2019 | £480.80 a week |
| 2020 | £515.80 a week |
| 2021 | £552.20 a week |
| 2022 | £585.70 a week |
| 2023 | £605.00 a week |
| 2024 | £682.90 a week |
| 2025 | £722.50 a week |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 76.1% |
| 2016/17 | 73.9% |
| 2017/18 | 76.5% |
| 2018/19 | 72.6% |
| 2019/20 | 74.0% |
| 2020/21 | 67.0% |
| 2021/22 | 70.7% |
| 2022/23 | 65.5% |
| 2023/24 | 72.7% |
| 2024/25 | 78.8% |
| 2025/26 | 78.8% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.8 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.4 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 80.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,710 |
| 2017 | 7,670 |
| 2018 | 7,695 |
| 2019 | 7,685 |
| 2020 | 7,625 |
| 2021 | 7,550 |
| 2022 | 7,590 |
| 2023 | 7,540 |
| 2024 | 7,565 |
| 2025 | 7,605 |
| 2026 | 7,680 |
Questions about Dumfries and Galloway
What is the population of Dumfries and Galloway?
The ONS estimates 145,490 people lived in Dumfries and Galloway in mid-2025.
What is the average salary in Dumfries and Galloway?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Dumfries and Galloway was £722.50 a week in April 2025 (£34,895 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the average house price in Dumfries and Galloway?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £169,511.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Dumfries and Galloway?
The ONS claimant count was 2,390 in August 2026, 2.9% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in Dumfries and Galloway?
81.2 years for women and 77.2 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Dumfries and Galloway
Every body that makes decisions for Dumfries and Galloway, 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
Community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Dumfries and Galloway council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Dumfries and Galloway in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government makes law for Scotland on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Dumfries and Galloway: John Cooper (Conservative) MP
- Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale: David Mundell (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.
- Average house price: Scottish figures come from Registers of Scotland.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for Scotland
- UK figures: UK population · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK employment rate
- Other council areas in Scotland: Dundee City · East Ayrshire · Falkirk · North Ayrshire · Perth and Kinross · Scottish Borders
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.