Kirklees: local statistics
Kirklees is a metropolitan borough in the Yorkshire and the Humber, home to an estimated 445,832 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 Kirklees, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In August 2026, 13,180 people in Kirklees were on the claimant count, 4.7% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the Yorkshire and the Humber: 4.1%). That compares with 4.6% a year before. Over the last five years it peaked at 5.7% in August 2021 and was lowest at 4.1% in November 2023.
In mid-2025 the population of Kirklees was estimated at 445,832, a change of +0.0% in a year. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 3.4%, against +5.5% for the Yorkshire and the Humber as a whole, the 11th fastest growth of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber. No earlier year in the series was higher.
Police recorded 39,219 crimes in Kirklees in the year to March 2026, 88.0 for every 1,000 residents, the 11th highest rate of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber. A year earlier it was 91.9. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 72.5 to 109.5 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Kirklees is £2,441.07, up £119.31 on 2025-26. It is the 5th highest of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,527.78.
The average house price in Kirklees was £208,987 in July 2026, up 6.1% on July 2025. That is 6th of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber, counting from the highest (regional average £209,116). This July figure is the highest in the series, 55% up on July 2016. The average price is 5.8 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Kirklees. That ratio is 5th of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber, counting from the highest ratio.
An estimated 70.7% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Kirklees were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.2 points); the figure for the Yorkshire and the Humber was 73.3%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 69.3% to 77.1%.
The ONS counted 17,700 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Kirklees in March 2026, 8% more than in 2016. There are 40 per 1,000 residents, mid-table in the Yorkshire and the Humber, 7th of 15.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Kirklees was £700.40 in April 2025 (£35,867 a year). That is 1.6% below the figure for the Yorkshire and the Humber and close to the middle of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber (9th highest). Jobs based in Kirklees paid a median £670.80 a week, £29.60 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £480.80: a change of +46% before inflation.
A girl born in Kirklees in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 82.0 years and a boy 78.0 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.3 years for women and -0.8 for men. It is close to the middle of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber (8th highest for women).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 431,110 |
| 2016 | 432,588 |
| 2017 | 433,393 |
| 2018 | 433,571 |
| 2019 | 433,259 |
| 2020 | 432,878 |
| 2021 | 433,458 |
| 2022 | 438,007 |
| 2023 | 442,743 |
| 2024 | 445,780 |
| 2025 | 445,832 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £134,469 |
| July 2017 | £138,290 |
| July 2018 | £143,494 |
| July 2019 | £145,667 |
| July 2020 | £146,925 |
| July 2021 | £168,234 |
| July 2022 | £182,954 |
| July 2023 | £183,251 |
| July 2024 | £190,787 |
| July 2025 | £196,993 |
| July 2026 | £208,987 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £480.80 a week |
| 2016 | £494.40 a week |
| 2017 | £505.80 a week |
| 2018 | £531.40 a week |
| 2019 | £530.30 a week |
| 2020 | £541.10 a week |
| 2021 | £544.10 a week |
| 2022 | £613.90 a week |
| 2023 | £619.60 a week |
| 2024 | £670.20 a week |
| 2025 | £700.40 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,527.78 |
| 2017-18 | £1,601.15 |
| 2018-19 | £1,697.85 |
| 2019-20 | £1,767.67 |
| 2020-21 | £1,838.64 |
| 2021-22 | £1,932.49 |
| 2022-23 | £1,997.31 |
| 2023-24 | £2,102.45 |
| 2024-25 | £2,207.66 |
| 2025-26 | £2,321.76 |
| 2026-27 | £2,441.07 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 72.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 87.2 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 95.0 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 106.2 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 107.6 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 91.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 104.5 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 109.5 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 99.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 91.9 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 88.0 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 69.4% |
| 2016/17 | 71.1% |
| 2017/18 | 69.3% |
| 2018/19 | 72.4% |
| 2019/20 | 73.2% |
| 2020/21 | 70.8% |
| 2021/22 | 73.9% |
| 2022/23 | 70.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73.3% |
| 2024/25 | 77.1% |
| 2025/26 | 70.7% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.3 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.9 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 16,375 |
| 2017 | 16,865 |
| 2018 | 16,635 |
| 2019 | 16,830 |
| 2020 | 17,335 |
| 2021 | 17,930 |
| 2022 | 17,475 |
| 2023 | 17,450 |
| 2024 | 17,465 |
| 2025 | 17,450 |
| 2026 | 17,700 |
Questions about Kirklees
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Kirklees?
The ONS claimant count was 13,180 in August 2026, 4.7% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the population of Kirklees?
The ONS estimates 445,832 people lived in Kirklees in mid-2025.
What is the crime rate in Kirklees?
Home Office figures show 39,219 offences in the year to March 2026, or 88.0 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How much is Band D council tax in Kirklees?
£2,441.07 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the average house price in Kirklees?
£208,987 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+6.1% on a year).
What is the average salary in Kirklees?
£700.40 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in Kirklees?
82.0 years for women and 78.0 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Kirklees
Every body that makes decisions for Kirklees, 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
- Kirklees council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Kirklees 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
- Colne Valley: Paul Davies (Labour) MP
- Dewsbury and Batley: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent) MP
- Huddersfield: Harpreet Uppal (Labour) MP
- Ossett and Denby Dale: Jade Botterill (Labour) MP
- Spen Valley: Kim Leadbeater (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 Yorkshire and the Humber
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · UK population · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber: Bradford · Doncaster · East Riding of Yorkshire · Rotherham · Sheffield · Wakefield
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.