Leeds: local statistics
Leeds is a metropolitan borough in the Yorkshire and the Humber, home to an estimated 840,550 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 Leeds, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Leeds had an estimated 840,550 residents in mid-2025, a change of -0.3% in a year. That is 62,563 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 8.0%, against +5.5% for the Yorkshire and the Humber as a whole. That is the 2nd fastest growth in the Yorkshire and the Humber. The series peaked at 842,884 in mid-2024.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Leeds is £2,283.73, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 2nd lowest in the Yorkshire and the Humber. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,428.80, so it has risen 60%.
A typical home in Leeds cost £247,695 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 3.8% in twelve months. That is the 3rd highest of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber (regional average £209,116). This July figure is the highest in the series, 51% up on July 2016. The average price is 6.7 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Leeds. That ratio is the 3rd highest ratio in the Yorkshire and the Humber.
In March 2026, 35,980 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Leeds, 10% more than in 2016. That is 43 for every 1,000 residents, the 5th highest of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber.
In August 2026, 25,640 people in Leeds were on the claimant count, 4.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the Yorkshire and the Humber: 4.1%). That compares with 4.4% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 4.0% (January 2023) and 5.7% (August 2021).
Life expectancy at birth in Leeds is 82.6 years for women and 78.8 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, 0.4 more. It is 4th of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber, counting from the highest for women.
The police recorded 115.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in Leeds in the year to March 2026 (96,875 offences in all), the 5th highest rate of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber. That compares with 119.8 per 1,000 the year before. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 96.7 to 139.7 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 75.8% of Leeds residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 2.7 points either way, against 73.3% across the Yorkshire and the Humber. Its lowest reading in the series was 69.3% and its highest 78.3%.
Full-time employees living in Leeds earned a median £723.00 a week in April 2025 (£36,716 a year). It is the 6th highest of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber, and 1.6% more than across the Yorkshire and the Humber. Jobs based in Leeds paid a median £741.20 a week, £18.20 more than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £498.40: a change of +45% before inflation.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 777,987 |
| 2016 | 786,739 |
| 2017 | 793,134 |
| 2018 | 797,696 |
| 2019 | 804,640 |
| 2020 | 808,443 |
| 2021 | 809,479 |
| 2022 | 819,992 |
| 2023 | 833,035 |
| 2024 | 842,884 |
| 2025 | 840,550 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £164,305 |
| July 2017 | £170,970 |
| July 2018 | £178,008 |
| July 2019 | £181,534 |
| July 2020 | £187,892 |
| July 2021 | £205,117 |
| July 2022 | £224,603 |
| July 2023 | £228,168 |
| July 2024 | £230,887 |
| July 2025 | £238,646 |
| July 2026 | £247,695 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £498.40 a week |
| 2016 | £527.90 a week |
| 2017 | £536.60 a week |
| 2018 | £545.50 a week |
| 2019 | £557.20 a week |
| 2020 | £574.90 a week |
| 2021 | £596.30 a week |
| 2022 | £621.30 a week |
| 2023 | £665.40 a week |
| 2024 | £700.80 a week |
| 2025 | £723.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,428.80 |
| 2017-18 | £1,496.33 |
| 2018-19 | £1,574.10 |
| 2019-20 | £1,653.63 |
| 2020-21 | £1,720.14 |
| 2021-22 | £1,808.77 |
| 2022-23 | £1,869.30 |
| 2023-24 | £1,968.38 |
| 2024-25 | £2,066.22 |
| 2025-26 | £2,172.39 |
| 2026-27 | £2,283.73 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 96.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 112.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 121.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 133.3 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 128.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 108.9 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 131.3 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 139.7 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 127.5 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 119.8 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 115.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 74.2% |
| 2016/17 | 74.9% |
| 2017/18 | 76.9% |
| 2018/19 | 75.5% |
| 2019/20 | 75.9% |
| 2020/21 | 78.3% |
| 2021/22 | 73.9% |
| 2022/23 | 76.4% |
| 2023/24 | 73.5% |
| 2024/25 | 69.3% |
| 2025/26 | 75.8% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.2 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.3 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.3 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.0 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.2 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 32,605 |
| 2017 | 34,630 |
| 2018 | 34,665 |
| 2019 | 34,900 |
| 2020 | 36,585 |
| 2021 | 36,705 |
| 2022 | 36,490 |
| 2023 | 35,480 |
| 2024 | 35,165 |
| 2025 | 35,495 |
| 2026 | 35,980 |
Questions about Leeds
What is the population of Leeds?
840,550 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How much is Band D council tax in Leeds?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,283.73 for 2026-27.
What is the average house price in Leeds?
£247,695 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+3.8% on a year).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Leeds?
The ONS claimant count was 25,640 in August 2026, 4.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in Leeds?
82.6 years for women and 78.8 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Leeds?
Home Office figures show 96,875 offences in the year to March 2026, or 115.3 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average salary in Leeds?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Leeds was £723.00 a week in April 2025 (£36,716 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Who has power over Leeds
Every body that makes decisions for Leeds, 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
- Leeds council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Leeds 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
- Leeds Central and Headingley: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Leeds East: Richard Burgon (Labour) MP
- Leeds North East: Fabian Hamilton (Labour) MP
- Leeds North West: Katie White (Labour) MP
- Leeds South: Hilary Benn (Labour) MP
- Leeds South West and Morley: Mark Sewards (Labour) MP
- Leeds West and Pudsey: Rachel Reeves (Labour) MP
- Selby: Keir Mather (Labour) MP
- Wakefield and Rothwell: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Wetherby and Easingwold: Sir Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative) 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 population · UK average house price · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber: Bradford · East Riding of Yorkshire · Kirklees · North Yorkshire · Sheffield · Wakefield
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price 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.