East Ayrshire: local statistics
East Ayrshire is a council area in Scotland, home to an estimated 121,350 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 East Ayrshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A typical home in East Ayrshire cost £138,971 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 7.2% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 29th highest of all 32 council areas in Scotland; the average for Scotland was £196,349. Prices are 55% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 3.7 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in East Ayrshire. That ratio is the 28th highest ratio of 32 in Scotland.
Life expectancy at birth in East Ayrshire is 78.9 years for women and 75.7 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 81.1 and 77.2 years across Scotland. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.7 years for women and -0.1 for men. It is the 3rd lowest for women in Scotland.
The median full-time employee living in East Ayrshire was paid £733.00 a week before tax in April 2025, or £37,968 over a year. It is the 27th highest of all 32 council areas in Scotland, and 5.5% less than across Scotland. Jobs based in East Ayrshire paid a median £716.90 a week, £16.10 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £523.70: a change of +40% before inflation.
In August 2026, 2,765 people in East Ayrshire were on the claimant count, 3.7% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for Scotland was 3.2%. A year earlier the rate was 3.6%. Over the last five years it peaked at 6.4% in August 2021 and was lowest at 3.5% in January 2026.
East Ayrshire had an estimated 121,350 residents in mid-2025, unchanged on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has fallen by 0.2% (Scotland: +3.6%). That is 24th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the fastest growth. The series peaked at 121,620 in mid-2015.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 73.2% of East Ayrshire residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 5.0 points either way; the figure for Scotland was 74.6%. Its lowest reading in the series was 66.7% and its highest 73.7%.
The ONS counted 3,960 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in East Ayrshire in March 2026, about the same as in 2016. That is 33 for every 1,000 residents, 22nd of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 121,620 |
| 2016 | 121,580 |
| 2017 | 121,150 |
| 2018 | 120,810 |
| 2019 | 120,870 |
| 2020 | 120,340 |
| 2021 | 120,500 |
| 2022 | 120,400 |
| 2023 | 120,800 |
| 2024 | 121,320 |
| 2025 | 121,350 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £89,793 |
| July 2017 | £95,087 |
| July 2018 | £92,818 |
| July 2019 | £97,049 |
| July 2020 | £96,043 |
| July 2021 | £104,828 |
| July 2022 | £124,839 |
| July 2023 | £121,424 |
| July 2024 | £124,425 |
| July 2025 | £129,581 |
| July 2026 | £138,971 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £523.70 a week |
| 2016 | £550.10 a week |
| 2017 | £557.70 a week |
| 2018 | £581.60 a week |
| 2019 | £597.80 a week |
| 2020 | £610.40 a week |
| 2021 | £615.10 a week |
| 2022 | £637.40 a week |
| 2023 | £708.30 a week |
| 2024 | £690.00 a week |
| 2025 | £733.00 a week |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 68.7% |
| 2016/17 | 66.7% |
| 2017/18 | 71.4% |
| 2018/19 | 71.1% |
| 2019/20 | 72.0% |
| 2020/21 | 73.3% |
| 2021/22 | 73.7% |
| 2022/23 | 72.6% |
| 2023/24 | 73.3% |
| 2024/25 | 69.2% |
| 2025/26 | 73.2% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 79.6 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 79.4 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 79.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 79.9 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 79.9 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 79.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 79.7 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 79.2 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 79.1 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 78.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 78.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 3,945 |
| 2017 | 4,120 |
| 2018 | 4,080 |
| 2019 | 4,115 |
| 2020 | 4,150 |
| 2021 | 4,080 |
| 2022 | 4,090 |
| 2023 | 4,025 |
| 2024 | 3,950 |
| 2025 | 3,940 |
| 2026 | 3,960 |
Questions about East Ayrshire
What is the average house price in East Ayrshire?
£138,971 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+7.2% on a year).
What is life expectancy in East Ayrshire?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 75.7 years for men and 78.9 for women.
What is the average salary in East Ayrshire?
Median pay for full-time employees living in East Ayrshire was £733.00 a week in April 2025 (£37,968 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in East Ayrshire?
2,765 in August 2026 (3.7% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the population of East Ayrshire?
121,350 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over East Ayrshire
Every body that makes decisions for East Ayrshire, 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
- East Ayrshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- East Ayrshire 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
- Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock: Elaine Stewart (Labour) MP
- Kilmarnock and Loudoun: Lillian Jones (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.
- 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 average house price · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in Scotland: Angus · East Dunbartonshire · East Lothian · North Ayrshire · Scottish Borders · South Ayrshire
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How healthy is 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.