Kensington and Chelsea: local statistics
Kensington and Chelsea is a London borough in London, home to an estimated 145,734 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 Kensington and Chelsea, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Homes in Kensington and Chelsea sold for an average of £1,232,640 in July 2026, down 14.1% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it the highest in London (regional average £550,037). This July figure is the lowest in the series, 7% below July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Kensington and Chelsea (£52,576) gives a ratio of 23.4. That ratio is the highest ratio in London.
145,734 people lived in Kensington and Chelsea in mid-2025, according to the ONS, down 1.0% on a year earlier. That is 10,415 fewer people than in mid-2015, a fall of 6.7%; London grew by 5.4% over the same years. That is the slowest growth in London. The series peaked at 156,149 in mid-2015.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Kensington and Chelsea had a life expectancy at birth of 87.1 years; for men it was 82.2 (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +1.3 years for women and -0.3 for men. It is the highest for women of all 32 council areas in London.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Kensington and Chelsea was £1,022.60 in April 2025 (£52,576 a year). That is 13.3% above the figure for London and the 3rd highest in London. Jobs based in Kensington and Chelsea paid a median £853.50 a week, £169.10 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £771.40, so it has risen 33% before inflation.
3.4% of Kensington and Chelsea residents aged 16 to 64 (3,490 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for London was 5.5%. Twelve months before, it was 3.6%. The five-year high was 5.1% (August 2021); the low was 3.1% (May 2023).
In the year to March 2026, 21,071 offences were recorded by police in Kensington and Chelsea: 144.6 per 1,000 people, the 4th highest rate of all 33 council areas in London. The rate was 151.6 in the year to March 2025. The highest rate in the series was 167.5, in the year to March 2020. Fraud is not included.
An estimated 65.6% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Kensington and Chelsea were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 5.9 points); the figure for London was 74.8%. Its lowest reading in the series was 61.0% and its highest 70.5%.
A Band D home in Kensington and Chelsea pays an average of £1,666.65 in council tax in 2026-27, up £75.06 on 2025-26. That makes it 29th of 33 in London, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,058.58, so it has risen 57%.
In March 2026, 15,105 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Kensington and Chelsea, 1% fewer than in 2016. That is 104 for every 1,000 residents, 6th of 33 in London, counting from the highest.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 156,149 |
| 2016 | 152,708 |
| 2017 | 149,651 |
| 2018 | 148,471 |
| 2019 | 146,805 |
| 2020 | 144,874 |
| 2021 | 144,266 |
| 2022 | 147,887 |
| 2023 | 149,049 |
| 2024 | 147,255 |
| 2025 | 145,734 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £1,330,421 |
| July 2017 | £1,411,123 |
| July 2018 | £1,444,330 |
| July 2019 | £1,370,079 |
| July 2020 | £1,431,124 |
| July 2021 | £1,434,011 |
| July 2022 | £1,614,869 |
| July 2023 | £1,507,828 |
| July 2024 | £1,395,929 |
| July 2025 | £1,434,732 |
| July 2026 | £1,232,640 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £771.40 a week |
| 2016 | £735.00 a week |
| 2017 | £854.80 a week |
| 2018 | £831.20 a week |
| 2019 | £901.30 a week |
| 2020 | £916.60 a week |
| 2021 | £977.00 a week |
| 2022 | £833.40 a week |
| 2023 | £996.60 a week |
| 2024 | £990.00 a week |
| 2025 | £1,022.60 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,058.58 |
| 2017-18 | £1,077.94 |
| 2018-19 | £1,139.41 |
| 2019-20 | £1,207.85 |
| 2020-21 | £1,254.01 |
| 2021-22 | £1,330.98 |
| 2022-23 | £1,382.20 |
| 2023-24 | £1,442.29 |
| 2024-25 | £1,529.85 |
| 2025-26 | £1,591.59 |
| 2026-27 | £1,666.65 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 125.9 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 133.7 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 145.6 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 151.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 167.5 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 111.8 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 137.3 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 144.3 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 161.3 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 151.6 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 144.6 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 70.5% |
| 2016/17 | 64.6% |
| 2017/18 | 65.4% |
| 2018/19 | 61.7% |
| 2019/20 | 68.2% |
| 2020/21 | 70.1% |
| 2021/22 | 65.2% |
| 2022/23 | 63.2% |
| 2023/24 | 65.1% |
| 2024/25 | 61.0% |
| 2025/26 | 65.6% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 85.8 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 86.1 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 85.9 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 85.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 86.0 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.9 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 86.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 86.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 86.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 86.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 87.1 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 15,220 |
| 2017 | 15,540 |
| 2018 | 15,590 |
| 2019 | 15,925 |
| 2020 | 15,940 |
| 2021 | 15,845 |
| 2022 | 15,770 |
| 2023 | 15,245 |
| 2024 | 15,150 |
| 2025 | 14,925 |
| 2026 | 15,105 |
Questions about Kensington and Chelsea
What is the average house price in Kensington and Chelsea?
£1,232,640 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-14.1% on a year).
What is the population of Kensington and Chelsea?
The ONS estimates 145,734 people lived in Kensington and Chelsea in mid-2025.
What is life expectancy in Kensington and Chelsea?
87.1 years for women and 82.2 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average salary in Kensington and Chelsea?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Kensington and Chelsea was £1,022.60 a week in April 2025 (£52,576 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Kensington and Chelsea?
The ONS claimant count was 3,490 in August 2026, 3.4% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Kensington and Chelsea?
Home Office figures show 21,071 offences in the year to March 2026, or 144.6 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How much is Band D council tax in Kensington and Chelsea?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £1,666.65 for 2026-27.
Who has power over Kensington and Chelsea
Every body that makes decisions for Kensington and Chelsea, 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
- Kensington and Chelsea council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Kensington and Chelsea 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
- Chelsea and Fulham: Ben Coleman (Labour) MP
- Kensington and Bayswater: Joe Powell (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: London
- UK figures: UK average house price · UK population · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in London: Camden · Hammersmith and Fulham · Kingston upon Thames · Richmond upon Thames · Sutton · Westminster
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.