Gateshead: local statistics
Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the North East, home to an estimated 202,509 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 Gateshead, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
202,509 people lived in Gateshead in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 0.5% on a year earlier. That is 1,238 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 0.6%; the North East grew by 5.8% over the same years. That is the slowest growth of all 12 council areas in the North East. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
Average Band D council tax in Gateshead is £2,715.81 for 2026-27, up £137.35 on 2025-26. That makes it the highest of all 12 council areas in the North East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,699.65, so it has risen 60%.
Police recorded 17,797 crimes in Gateshead in the year to March 2026, 87.9 for every 1,000 residents, the 3rd lowest rate in the North East. The rate was 90.8 in the year to March 2025. The highest rate in the series was 105.4, in the year to March 2019. Fraud is not included.
In August 2026, 5,100 people in Gateshead were on the claimant count, 4.1% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the North East was 3.7%. Twelve months before, it was 4.0%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.8% (January 2026) and 6.4% (August 2021).
The median full-time employee living in Gateshead was paid £674.80 a week before tax in April 2025 (£34,199 a year). It is the 8th highest of all 12 council areas in the North East, and 2.5% less than across the North East. Jobs based in Gateshead paid almost the same: a median £670.30 a week. In 2015 the residents' median was £486.50, so it has risen 39% before inflation.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Gateshead at £155,550 for July 2026, up 3.7% on a year before. That is close to the middle of all 12 council areas in the North East (7th highest); the average for the North East was £166,943. Prices are 28% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 4.5 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Gateshead. That ratio is 5th of 12 in the North East, counting from the highest ratio.
Life expectancy at birth in Gateshead is 81.5 years for women and 76.9 years for men (2022 to 2024) (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.3 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.8 less. It is close to the middle of all 12 council areas in the North East (7th highest for women).
In March 2026, 7,160 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Gateshead, 6% more than in 2016. There are 35 per 1,000 residents, the 4th highest of 12 in the North East.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 72.4% of Gateshead residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.2 points either way; the figure for the North East was 71.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 70.9% to 75.2%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 201,271 |
| 2016 | 201,359 |
| 2017 | 200,660 |
| 2018 | 199,915 |
| 2019 | 198,435 |
| 2020 | 197,342 |
| 2021 | 196,179 |
| 2022 | 198,321 |
| 2023 | 199,876 |
| 2024 | 201,422 |
| 2025 | 202,509 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £121,709 |
| July 2017 | £121,872 |
| July 2018 | £123,439 |
| July 2019 | £126,118 |
| July 2020 | £123,120 |
| July 2021 | £134,135 |
| July 2022 | £146,587 |
| July 2023 | £148,776 |
| July 2024 | £146,968 |
| July 2025 | £149,984 |
| July 2026 | £155,550 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £486.50 a week |
| 2016 | £487.30 a week |
| 2017 | £495.00 a week |
| 2018 | £502.50 a week |
| 2019 | £501.40 a week |
| 2020 | £499.80 a week |
| 2021 | £539.50 a week |
| 2022 | £570.80 a week |
| 2023 | £613.20 a week |
| 2024 | £643.70 a week |
| 2025 | £674.80 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,699.65 |
| 2017-18 | £1,782.55 |
| 2018-19 | £1,877.11 |
| 2019-20 | £1,970.80 |
| 2020-21 | £2,045.10 |
| 2021-22 | £2,144.63 |
| 2022-23 | £2,213.60 |
| 2023-24 | £2,331.96 |
| 2024-25 | £2,450.95 |
| 2025-26 | £2,578.46 |
| 2026-27 | £2,715.81 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 63.4 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 88.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 102.3 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 105.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 101.4 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 88.9 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 93.7 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 97.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 94.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 90.8 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 87.9 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 73.3% |
| 2016/17 | 71.8% |
| 2017/18 | 73.8% |
| 2018/19 | 74.2% |
| 2019/20 | 73.3% |
| 2020/21 | 74.7% |
| 2021/22 | 72.0% |
| 2022/23 | 70.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73.6% |
| 2024/25 | 75.2% |
| 2025/26 | 72.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.4 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.4 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.4 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.5 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,730 |
| 2017 | 6,800 |
| 2018 | 6,870 |
| 2019 | 6,930 |
| 2020 | 7,050 |
| 2021 | 7,100 |
| 2022 | 7,175 |
| 2023 | 7,075 |
| 2024 | 7,000 |
| 2025 | 7,035 |
| 2026 | 7,160 |
Questions about Gateshead
What is the population of Gateshead?
The ONS estimates 202,509 people lived in Gateshead in mid-2025.
How much is Band D council tax in Gateshead?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,715.81 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Gateshead?
Home Office figures show 17,797 offences in the year to March 2026, or 87.9 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Gateshead?
5,100 in August 2026 (4.1% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the average salary in Gateshead?
£674.80 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the average house price in Gateshead?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £155,550.
What is life expectancy in Gateshead?
81.5 years for women and 76.9 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Gateshead
Every body that makes decisions for Gateshead, 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
- Gateshead council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Gateshead in official figures this page
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- North East Mayoral Combined Authority mayoral combined authority
- Northumbria Police police force
- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust NHS
- NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board NHS
- North East in official figures
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
- Blaydon and Consett: Liz Twist (Labour) MP
- Gateshead Central and Whickham: Mark Ferguson (Labour) MP
- Jarrow and Gateshead East: Kate Osborne (Labour) MP
- Washington and Gateshead South: Mrs Sharon Hodgson (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 North East
- UK figures: UK population · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the North East: Middlesbrough · North Tyneside · Redcar and Cleveland · South Tyneside · Stockton-on-Tees · Sunderland
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.