Highland: local statistics
Highland is a council area in Scotland, home to an estimated 237,260 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 Highland, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The ONS counted 13,920 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Highland in March 2026, 2% more than in 2016. There are 59 per 1,000 residents, 4th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest.
The average house price in Highland was £221,136 in July 2026, a rise of 6.1% in twelve months. That is the 9th highest of the 32 council areas in Scotland; the average for Scotland was £196,349. This July figure is the highest in the series, 46% up on July 2016. The average price is 5.6 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Highland. That ratio is 10th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest ratio.
In August 2026, 3,230 people in Highland were on the claimant count, 2.3% of residents aged 16 to 64 (Scotland: 3.2%). That compares with 2.1% a year before. The five-year high was 3.6% (August 2021); the low was 2.0% (October 2025).
In 2022 to 2024, women in Highland had a life expectancy at birth of 82.0 years; for men it was 77.7, compared with 81.1 and 77.2 years across Scotland. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.7 years for women and -0.5 for men. It is the 12th highest for women of the 32 council areas in Scotland.
An estimated 72.6% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Highland were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 7.0 points), against 74.6% across Scotland. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 70.0% to 81.3%.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Highland was £775.10 in April 2025 (£39,740 a year). It is close to the middle of the 32 council areas in Scotland (14th highest), and 0.1% less than across Scotland. Jobs based in Highland paid a median £753.60 a week, £21.50 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £490.70, so it has risen 58% before inflation.
The ONS estimates that 237,260 people lived in Highland in mid-2025, a change of -0.1% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +1.4%, against +3.6% for Scotland as a whole, close to the middle of the 32 council areas in Scotland (18th fastest growth). The series peaked at 237,570 in mid-2024.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 234,060 |
| 2016 | 234,570 |
| 2017 | 234,800 |
| 2018 | 234,530 |
| 2019 | 234,510 |
| 2020 | 233,910 |
| 2021 | 235,850 |
| 2022 | 235,710 |
| 2023 | 236,830 |
| 2024 | 237,570 |
| 2025 | 237,260 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £151,770 |
| July 2017 | £157,051 |
| July 2018 | £160,001 |
| July 2019 | £167,648 |
| July 2020 | £168,765 |
| July 2021 | £183,919 |
| July 2022 | £203,333 |
| July 2023 | £199,157 |
| July 2024 | £207,905 |
| July 2025 | £208,463 |
| July 2026 | £221,136 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £490.70 a week |
| 2016 | £529.60 a week |
| 2017 | £544.50 a week |
| 2018 | £559.60 a week |
| 2019 | £575.70 a week |
| 2020 | £585.10 a week |
| 2021 | £605.70 a week |
| 2022 | £666.50 a week |
| 2023 | £711.10 a week |
| 2024 | £737.20 a week |
| 2025 | £775.10 a week |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 79.1% |
| 2016/17 | 79.8% |
| 2017/18 | 81.3% |
| 2018/19 | 79.7% |
| 2019/20 | 79.8% |
| 2020/21 | 76.8% |
| 2021/22 | 70.0% |
| 2022/23 | 73.8% |
| 2023/24 | 76.9% |
| 2024/25 | 73.4% |
| 2025/26 | 72.6% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.9 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.6 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.9 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.8 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 13,665 |
| 2017 | 13,735 |
| 2018 | 13,860 |
| 2019 | 14,000 |
| 2020 | 13,880 |
| 2021 | 13,790 |
| 2022 | 13,645 |
| 2023 | 13,560 |
| 2024 | 13,645 |
| 2025 | 13,785 |
| 2026 | 13,920 |
Questions about Highland
What is the average house price in Highland?
£221,136 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+6.1% on a year).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Highland?
The ONS claimant count was 3,230 in August 2026, 2.3% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in Highland?
82.0 years for women and 77.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average salary in Highland?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Highland was £775.10 a week in April 2025 (£39,740 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Highland?
237,260 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over Highland
Every body that makes decisions for Highland, 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
- Highland council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Highland 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
- Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party) MP
- Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire: Mr Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party) 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 · UK unemployment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in Scotland: Aberdeen City · Aberdeenshire · Falkirk · Perth and Kinross · Renfrewshire · West Lothian
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average salary 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.