Medway: local statistics
Medway is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 292,697 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 Medway, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The average house price in Medway was £298,547 in July 2026, up 1.1% on July 2025. That is 55th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest (regional average £380,878). This July figure is the highest in the series, 33% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Medway (£39,622) gives a ratio of 7.5. That ratio is the 57th highest ratio of all 64 council areas in the South East.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Medway had a life expectancy at birth of 82.6 years; for men it was 78.7, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. In 2012 to 2014 the figures were 82.2 and 78.7. It is 58th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest for women.
In March 2026, 10,850 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Medway, 14% more than in 2016. There are 37 per 1,000 residents, the 59th highest of 64 in the South East.
A Band D home in Medway pays an average of £2,328.55 in council tax in 2026-27, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. That makes it 56th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,463.73, so it has risen 59%.
4.2% of Medway residents aged 16 to 64 (7,700 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.1% in the South East. That compares with 4.1% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.6% (January 2023) and 5.7% (August 2021).
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Medway took home £773.30 a week before tax (£39,622 a year). That is 5.1% below the figure for the South East and the 41st highest of all 64 council areas in the South East. For full-time jobs located in Medway the median is £730.30 a week (−£43.00 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £547.90: a change of +41% before inflation.
The ONS estimates that 292,697 people lived in Medway in mid-2025, a change of +0.3% in a year. That is 16,660 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 6.0%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years, close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (37th fastest growth). The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 81.0% of Medway residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 3.2 points), against 78.9% across the South East. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.0% and its highest 81.0%.
The Home Office does not publish recorded crime for Medway on its own for recent years, so this page gives the figure for the Kent police force area: 154,163 offences excluding fraud in the year to March 2026, 7,888 fewer than the year before.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 276,037 |
| 2016 | 277,504 |
| 2017 | 278,652 |
| 2018 | 278,827 |
| 2019 | 279,852 |
| 2020 | 280,364 |
| 2021 | 279,903 |
| 2022 | 282,849 |
| 2023 | 287,701 |
| 2024 | 291,691 |
| 2025 | 292,697 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £224,058 |
| July 2017 | £239,543 |
| July 2018 | £245,646 |
| July 2019 | £241,880 |
| July 2020 | £242,566 |
| July 2021 | £260,995 |
| July 2022 | £291,612 |
| July 2023 | £291,833 |
| July 2024 | £283,970 |
| July 2025 | £295,370 |
| July 2026 | £298,547 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £547.90 a week |
| 2016 | £565.00 a week |
| 2017 | £558.00 a week |
| 2018 | £588.50 a week |
| 2019 | £610.00 a week |
| 2020 | £600.40 a week |
| 2021 | £602.80 a week |
| 2022 | £605.30 a week |
| 2023 | £689.90 a week |
| 2024 | £754.60 a week |
| 2025 | £773.30 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,463.73 |
| 2017-18 | £1,532.05 |
| 2018-19 | £1,624.39 |
| 2019-20 | £1,692.01 |
| 2020-21 | £1,760.26 |
| 2021-22 | £1,850.45 |
| 2022-23 | £1,908.64 |
| 2023-24 | £2,008.56 |
| 2024-25 | £2,108.35 |
| 2025-26 | £2,215.38 |
| 2026-27 | £2,328.55 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 71.0% |
| 2016/17 | 75.8% |
| 2017/18 | 78.0% |
| 2018/19 | 77.5% |
| 2019/20 | 77.3% |
| 2020/21 | 75.1% |
| 2021/22 | 78.1% |
| 2022/23 | 79.3% |
| 2023/24 | 78.8% |
| 2024/25 | 80.5% |
| 2025/26 | 81.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.0 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.6 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.8 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 9,480 |
| 2017 | 9,970 |
| 2018 | 9,985 |
| 2019 | 10,100 |
| 2020 | 10,470 |
| 2021 | 10,750 |
| 2022 | 10,560 |
| 2023 | 10,380 |
| 2024 | 10,505 |
| 2025 | 10,570 |
| 2026 | 10,850 |
Questions about Medway
What is the average house price in Medway?
£298,547 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+1.1% on a year).
What is life expectancy in Medway?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 78.7 years for men and 82.6 for women.
How much is Band D council tax in Medway?
£2,328.55 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Medway?
7,700 in August 2026 (4.2% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the average salary in Medway?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Medway was £773.30 a week in April 2025 (£39,622 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Medway?
292,697 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over Medway
Every body that makes decisions for Medway, 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
- Medway council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Medway 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
- Chatham and Aylesford: Tristan Osborne (Labour) MP
- Gillingham and Rainham: Naushabah Khan (Labour) MP
- Rochester and Strood: Lauren Edwards (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 (police force area): This figure covers the whole Kent police force area, not just Medway, because the Home Office tables do not give Medway on its own for recent years. It is the sum of the force's partnership rows, including offences not assigned to a partnership, and excludes fraud.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the South East
- UK figures: UK average house price · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South East: Basingstoke and Deane · Brighton and Hove · Maidstone · Milton Keynes · Portsmouth · Southampton
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.