Milton Keynes: local statistics
Milton Keynes is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 308,866 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 Milton Keynes, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Milton Keynes had an estimated 308,866 residents in mid-2025, up 1.0% on a year earlier. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +14.5%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years. That is 6th of 64 in the South East, counting from the fastest growth. No earlier year in the series was higher.
In March 2026, 15,105 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Milton Keynes, 7% more than in 2016. There are 49 per 1,000 residents, close to the middle of the 64 council areas in the South East (33rd highest).
Life expectancy at birth in Milton Keynes is 83.0 years for women and 80.2 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 +1.1 for men. It is the 55th highest for women of the 64 council areas in the South East.
The claimant count for Milton Keynes stood at 7,970 in August 2026, or 4.1% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the South East was 3.1%. The rate was the same a year earlier. Over the last five years it peaked at 4.8% in August 2021 and was lowest at 3.2% in January 2023.
Police recorded 26,843 crimes in Milton Keynes in the year to March 2026, 86.9 for every 1,000 residents, the 11th highest rate of the 55 council areas in the South East. The rate was 88.5 in the year to March 2025. In the year to March 2016 it was 69.2 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The average house price in Milton Keynes was £330,419 in July 2026, up 2.6% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it the 48th highest of 64 in the South East (regional average £380,878). This July figure is the highest in the series, 28% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Milton Keynes (£41,389) gives a ratio of 8.0. That ratio is the 50th highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
A Band D home in Milton Keynes pays an average of £2,372.21 in council tax in 2026-27, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. It is the 51st highest of the 64 council areas in the South East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,505.09, so it has risen 58%.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 78.1% of Milton Keynes residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 2.9 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Its lowest reading in the series was 74.5% and its highest 81.5%.
The median full-time employee living in Milton Keynes was paid £817.70 a week before tax in April 2025, or £41,389 over a year. It is close to the middle of the 64 council areas in the South East (35th highest), and 0.3% more than across the South East. For full-time jobs located in Milton Keynes the median is £798.60 a week (−£19.10 on the residents' figure). In 2015 the residents' median was £533.60, so it has risen 53% before inflation.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 269,783 |
| 2016 | 274,231 |
| 2017 | 276,588 |
| 2018 | 278,892 |
| 2019 | 281,434 |
| 2020 | 283,707 |
| 2021 | 288,312 |
| 2022 | 292,805 |
| 2023 | 300,323 |
| 2024 | 305,806 |
| 2025 | 308,866 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £257,692 |
| July 2017 | £264,546 |
| July 2018 | £269,651 |
| July 2019 | £267,098 |
| July 2020 | £263,670 |
| July 2021 | £285,624 |
| July 2022 | £309,845 |
| July 2023 | £313,374 |
| July 2024 | £312,849 |
| July 2025 | £321,981 |
| July 2026 | £330,419 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £533.60 a week |
| 2016 | £556.00 a week |
| 2017 | £576.20 a week |
| 2018 | £588.00 a week |
| 2019 | £636.80 a week |
| 2020 | £613.30 a week |
| 2021 | £642.10 a week |
| 2022 | £690.90 a week |
| 2023 | £704.20 a week |
| 2024 | £773.10 a week |
| 2025 | £817.70 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,505.09 |
| 2017-18 | £1,579.23 |
| 2018-19 | £1,672.69 |
| 2019-20 | £1,746.63 |
| 2020-21 | £1,810.05 |
| 2021-22 | £1,869.18 |
| 2022-23 | £1,943.08 |
| 2023-24 | £2,046.12 |
| 2024-25 | £2,150.46 |
| 2025-26 | £2,257.98 |
| 2026-27 | £2,372.21 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 69.2 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 71.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 77.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 86.2 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 95.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 76.1 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 90.8 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 95.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 87.2 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 88.5 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 86.9 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 76.2% |
| 2016/17 | 76.2% |
| 2017/18 | 77.7% |
| 2018/19 | 74.5% |
| 2019/20 | 78.1% |
| 2020/21 | 79.6% |
| 2021/22 | 81.5% |
| 2022/23 | 80.7% |
| 2023/24 | 76.6% |
| 2024/25 | 79.3% |
| 2025/26 | 78.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.6 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.9 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.0 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.3 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.2 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.9 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.5 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 14,080 |
| 2017 | 14,780 |
| 2018 | 14,675 |
| 2019 | 16,395 |
| 2020 | 15,215 |
| 2021 | 15,050 |
| 2022 | 14,890 |
| 2023 | 14,470 |
| 2024 | 14,570 |
| 2025 | 14,650 |
| 2026 | 15,105 |
Questions about Milton Keynes
What is the population of Milton Keynes?
308,866 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is life expectancy in Milton Keynes?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 80.2 years for men and 83.0 for women.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Milton Keynes?
The ONS claimant count was 7,970 in August 2026, 4.1% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Milton Keynes?
Home Office figures show 26,843 offences in the year to March 2026, or 86.9 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average house price in Milton Keynes?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £330,419.
How much is Band D council tax in Milton Keynes?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,372.21 for 2026-27.
What is the average salary in Milton Keynes?
£817.70 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
Who has power over Milton Keynes
Every body that makes decisions for Milton Keynes, 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
- Milton Keynes council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Milton Keynes 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
- Buckingham and Bletchley: Callum Anderson (Labour) MP
- Milton Keynes Central: Emily Darlington (Labour) MP
- Milton Keynes North: Chris Curtis (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 South East
- UK figures: UK population · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South East: Basingstoke and Deane · Brighton and Hove · Maidstone · Medway · Portsmouth · Southampton
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.