Leicester: local statistics
Leicester is a unitary authority in the East Midlands, home to an estimated 383,116 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 Leicester, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The claimant count for Leicester stood at 14,105 in August 2026, or 5.4% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.5% in the East Midlands. A year earlier the rate was 5.6%. Over the last five years it peaked at 6.2% in August 2021 and was lowest at 4.4% in January 2023.
In the year to March 2026, 42,724 offences were recorded by police in Leicester: 111.5 per 1,000 people, the 3rd highest rate in the East Midlands. The rate was 116.7 in the year to March 2025. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 82.8 to 135.0 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Full-time employees living in Leicester earned a median £639.50 a week in April 2025 (£32,281 a year). It is 32nd of 35 in the East Midlands, counting from the highest, and 11.3% less than across the East Midlands. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £680.30, £40.80 higher. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £421.70: a change of +52% before inflation.
Life expectancy at birth in Leicester is 81.3 years for women and 77.0 years for men (2022 to 2024) (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.4 years for women and -0.4 for men. It is 32nd of 35 in the East Midlands, counting from the highest for women.
The ONS counted 15,765 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Leicester in March 2026, 20% more than in 2016. There are 41 per 1,000 residents, mid-table in the East Midlands, 17th of 35.
An estimated 67.1% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Leicester were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 4.0 points); the figure for the East Midlands was 75.4%. Its lowest reading in the series was 63.3% and its highest 72.7%.
Average Band D council tax in Leicester is £2,528.75 for 2026-27, 5.0% more than in 2025-26. It is the 11th highest of 35 in the East Midlands. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,599.21, so it has risen 58%.
Leicester had an estimated 383,116 residents in mid-2025, a change of -0.9% in a year. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 9.5%, against +8.6% for the East Midlands as a whole, the 12th fastest growth of 35 in the East Midlands. The series peaked at 386,755 in mid-2024.
A typical home in Leicester cost £227,322 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, down 0.9% on July 2025. That is the 22nd highest of the 35 council areas in the East Midlands; the average for the East Midlands was £242,274. The July peak was £229,336 in 2025, and prices are 54% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Leicester (£32,281) gives a ratio of 7.0. That ratio is the 12th highest ratio of 35 in the East Midlands.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 349,853 |
| 2016 | 356,789 |
| 2017 | 361,895 |
| 2018 | 367,094 |
| 2019 | 369,776 |
| 2020 | 368,922 |
| 2021 | 366,940 |
| 2022 | 373,297 |
| 2023 | 382,934 |
| 2024 | 386,755 |
| 2025 | 383,116 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £147,700 |
| July 2017 | £155,401 |
| July 2018 | £166,699 |
| July 2019 | £173,681 |
| July 2020 | £184,165 |
| July 2021 | £199,115 |
| July 2022 | £217,613 |
| July 2023 | £225,080 |
| July 2024 | £224,533 |
| July 2025 | £229,336 |
| July 2026 | £227,322 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £421.70 a week |
| 2016 | £433.00 a week |
| 2017 | £439.60 a week |
| 2018 | £439.50 a week |
| 2019 | £458.40 a week |
| 2020 | £486.80 a week |
| 2021 | £512.70 a week |
| 2022 | £529.10 a week |
| 2023 | £554.80 a week |
| 2024 | £588.80 a week |
| 2025 | £639.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,599.21 |
| 2017-18 | £1,671.76 |
| 2018-19 | £1,770.92 |
| 2019-20 | £1,842.04 |
| 2020-21 | £1,915.42 |
| 2021-22 | £2,012.44 |
| 2022-23 | £2,078.26 |
| 2023-24 | £2,185.52 |
| 2024-25 | £2,292.51 |
| 2025-26 | £2,407.72 |
| 2026-27 | £2,528.75 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 82.8 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 92.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 109.6 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 118.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 116.4 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 110.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 129.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 135.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 123.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 116.7 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 111.5 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 63.3% |
| 2016/17 | 63.6% |
| 2017/18 | 66.0% |
| 2018/19 | 66.2% |
| 2019/20 | 72.7% |
| 2020/21 | 69.9% |
| 2021/22 | 65.1% |
| 2022/23 | 66.7% |
| 2023/24 | 69.2% |
| 2024/25 | 65.7% |
| 2025/26 | 67.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.7 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.8 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.9 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 80.8 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 80.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.3 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 13,085 |
| 2017 | 14,080 |
| 2018 | 14,490 |
| 2019 | 14,830 |
| 2020 | 15,235 |
| 2021 | 17,935 |
| 2022 | 16,555 |
| 2023 | 15,430 |
| 2024 | 15,480 |
| 2025 | 15,215 |
| 2026 | 15,765 |
Questions about Leicester
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Leicester?
14,105 in August 2026 (5.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the crime rate in Leicester?
111.5 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average salary in Leicester?
£639.50 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in Leicester?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 77.0 years for men and 81.3 for women.
How much is Band D council tax in Leicester?
£2,528.75 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the population of Leicester?
The ONS estimates 383,116 people lived in Leicester in mid-2025.
What is the average house price in Leicester?
£227,322 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-0.9% on a year).
Who has power over Leicester
Every body that makes decisions for Leicester, 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
- Leicester council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Leicester 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
- Leicester East: Shivani Raja (Conservative) MP
- Leicester South: Shockat Adam (Independent) MP
- Leicester West: Liz Kendall (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 East Midlands
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in the East Midlands: Charnwood · Derby · North Northamptonshire · Nottingham · South Kesteven · West Northamptonshire
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.