Folkestone and Hythe: local statistics
Folkestone and Hythe is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 112,163 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 Folkestone and Hythe, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Life expectancy at birth in Folkestone and Hythe is 83.0 years for women and 78.2 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.3 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 1.3 less. It is the 57th highest for women of 64 in the South East.
The average house price in Folkestone and Hythe was £303,296 in July 2026, up 0.9% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it the 53rd highest of 64 in the South East (regional average £380,878). Since July 2016 prices have risen 33%; the July high in the series was £309,128 in 2023. The average price is 7.8 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Folkestone and Hythe. That ratio is the 53rd highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
The ONS counted 4,485 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Folkestone and Hythe in March 2026, 5% more than in 2016. There are 40 per 1,000 residents, 51st of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest.
An estimated 70.6% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Folkestone and Hythe were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 8.8 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 70.6% to 83.5%.
The claimant count for Folkestone and Hythe stood at 2,450 in August 2026, or 3.8% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.1% in the South East. Twelve months before, it was 3.7%. The five-year high was 5.7% (August 2021); the low was 3.7% (October 2025).
Folkestone and Hythe had an estimated 112,163 residents in mid-2025, up 0.2% on mid-2024. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 3.5% (the South East: +8.1%), the 51st fastest growth of 64 in the South East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Folkestone and Hythe was £755.30 in April 2025 (£38,864 a year). It is 47th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest, and 7.3% less than across the South East. For full-time jobs located in Folkestone and Hythe the median is £699.40 a week (−£55.90 on the residents' figure). In 2015 the residents' median was £540.40, so it has risen 40% before inflation.
The police recorded 74.7 crimes per 1,000 residents in Folkestone and Hythe in the year to March 2026 (8,379 offences in all), the 19th highest rate of 55 in the South East. A year earlier it was 77.1. The highest rate in the series was 107.0, in the year to March 2019. Fraud is not included.
Average Band D council tax in Folkestone and Hythe is £2,538.75 for 2026-27, 4.2% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 22nd highest of 64 in the South East. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,653.60.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 108,327 |
| 2016 | 109,235 |
| 2017 | 109,095 |
| 2018 | 109,728 |
| 2019 | 109,659 |
| 2020 | 109,587 |
| 2021 | 110,040 |
| 2022 | 110,179 |
| 2023 | 111,188 |
| 2024 | 111,908 |
| 2025 | 112,163 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £227,536 |
| July 2017 | £241,045 |
| July 2018 | £248,680 |
| July 2019 | £249,576 |
| July 2020 | £251,652 |
| July 2021 | £277,279 |
| July 2022 | £302,709 |
| July 2023 | £309,128 |
| July 2024 | £297,378 |
| July 2025 | £300,625 |
| July 2026 | £303,296 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £540.40 a week |
| 2016 | £490.50 a week |
| 2017 | £520.00 a week |
| 2018 | £515.50 a week |
| 2019 | £561.30 a week |
| 2020 | £552.60 a week |
| 2021 | £607.80 a week |
| 2022 | £684.20 a week |
| 2023 | £670.10 a week |
| 2024 | £694.90 a week |
| 2025 | £755.30 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,653.60 |
| 2017-18 | £1,715.08 |
| 2018-19 | £1,800.34 |
| 2019-20 | £1,892.89 |
| 2020-21 | £1,967.24 |
| 2021-22 | £2,058.86 |
| 2022-23 | £2,118.71 |
| 2023-24 | £2,222.12 |
| 2024-25 | £2,326.82 |
| 2025-26 | £2,437.35 |
| 2026-27 | £2,538.75 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 59.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 68.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 88.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 107.0 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 98.9 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 90.7 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 89.9 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 90.1 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 78.5 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 77.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 74.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 78.8% |
| 2016/17 | 79.4% |
| 2017/18 | 72.0% |
| 2018/19 | 79.6% |
| 2019/20 | 83.5% |
| 2020/21 | 78.3% |
| 2021/22 | 80.0% |
| 2022/23 | 71.4% |
| 2023/24 | 71.1% |
| 2024/25 | 79.2% |
| 2025/26 | 70.6% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.1 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.7 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.9 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.6 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 4,290 |
| 2017 | 4,455 |
| 2018 | 4,360 |
| 2019 | 4,405 |
| 2020 | 4,400 |
| 2021 | 4,460 |
| 2022 | 4,520 |
| 2023 | 4,440 |
| 2024 | 4,420 |
| 2025 | 4,440 |
| 2026 | 4,485 |
Questions about Folkestone and Hythe
What is life expectancy in Folkestone and Hythe?
83.0 years for women and 78.2 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average house price in Folkestone and Hythe?
£303,296 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+0.9% on a year).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Folkestone and Hythe?
2,450 in August 2026 (3.8% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the population of Folkestone and Hythe?
112,163 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average salary in Folkestone and Hythe?
£755.30 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Folkestone and Hythe?
74.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
How much is Band D council tax in Folkestone and Hythe?
£2,538.75 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
Who has power over Folkestone and Hythe
Every body that makes decisions for Folkestone and Hythe, 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
- Folkestone and Hythe council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Folkestone and Hythe 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
- Ashford: Sojan Joseph (Labour) MP
- Folkestone and Hythe: Tony Vaughan (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: 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: Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK average house price · UK employment rate
- Other council areas in the South East: Fareham · Gravesham · Rushmoor · Spelthorne · Woking · Worthing
Related questions
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.