Moray: local statistics
Moray is a council area in Scotland, home to an estimated 94,730 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 8 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Moray, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The median full-time employee living in Moray was paid £658.80 a week before tax in April 2025 (£33,943 a year). It is the lowest of the 32 council areas in Scotland, and 15.1% less than across Scotland. The workplace figure, £658.80, is within £5 of it. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £491.10: a change of +34% before inflation.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Moray had a life expectancy at birth of 82.2 years; for men it was 77.7, compared with 81.1 and 77.2 years across Scotland. For women that is 0.6 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.8 less. It is the 9th highest for women of 32 in Scotland.
Moray had an estimated 94,730 residents in mid-2025, down 0.2% on mid-2024. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is -0.1% (Scotland: +3.6%), 23rd of 32 in Scotland, counting from the fastest growth. The series peaked at 95,110 in mid-2016.
A typical home in Moray cost £204,008 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, up 5.6% on a year before. That is 12th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest; the average for Scotland was £196,349. Prices are 46% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 6.0 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Moray. That ratio is 6th of 32 in Scotland, counting from the highest ratio.
The claimant count for Moray stood at 1,515 in August 2026, or 2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for Scotland was 3.2%. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. The five-year high was 4.0% (August 2021); the low was 2.1% (May 2024).
An estimated 78.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Moray were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 4.7 points either way; the figure for Scotland was 74.6%. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.6% and its highest 78.4%.
The ONS counted 3,930 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Moray in March 2026, 3% fewer than in 2016. That is 41 for every 1,000 residents, the 13th highest of the 32 council areas in Scotland.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 94,800 |
| 2016 | 95,110 |
| 2017 | 94,660 |
| 2018 | 94,090 |
| 2019 | 94,170 |
| 2020 | 93,870 |
| 2021 | 94,270 |
| 2022 | 94,300 |
| 2023 | 94,790 |
| 2024 | 94,890 |
| 2025 | 94,730 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £139,354 |
| July 2017 | £146,975 |
| July 2018 | £150,790 |
| July 2019 | £151,095 |
| July 2020 | £149,266 |
| July 2021 | £167,431 |
| July 2022 | £187,956 |
| July 2023 | £194,587 |
| July 2024 | £195,096 |
| July 2025 | £193,253 |
| July 2026 | £204,008 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £491.10 a week |
| 2016 | £496.30 a week |
| 2017 | £501.20 a week |
| 2018 | £527.20 a week |
| 2019 | £562.00 a week |
| 2020 | £550.60 a week |
| 2021 | £565.50 a week |
| 2022 | £600.10 a week |
| 2023 | £666.50 a week |
| 2024 | £639.80 a week |
| 2025 | £658.80 a week |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 74.2% |
| 2016/17 | 73.7% |
| 2017/18 | 73.9% |
| 2018/19 | 74.4% |
| 2019/20 | 76.5% |
| 2020/21 | 72.6% |
| 2021/22 | 73.6% |
| 2022/23 | 75.6% |
| 2023/24 | 75.2% |
| 2024/25 | 71.6% |
| 2025/26 | 78.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.6 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.8 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.5 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.3 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.2 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.2 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.0 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 4,040 |
| 2017 | 4,065 |
| 2018 | 4,080 |
| 2019 | 4,115 |
| 2020 | 4,130 |
| 2021 | 4,055 |
| 2022 | 4,010 |
| 2023 | 3,995 |
| 2024 | 3,955 |
| 2025 | 3,910 |
| 2026 | 3,930 |
Questions about Moray
What is the average salary in Moray?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Moray was £658.80 a week in April 2025 (£33,943 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is life expectancy in Moray?
82.2 years for women and 77.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the population of Moray?
The ONS estimates 94,730 people lived in Moray in mid-2025.
What is the average house price in Moray?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £204,008.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Moray?
1,515 in August 2026 (2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
Who has power over Moray
Every body that makes decisions for Moray, 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
Community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Moray council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Moray in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government makes law for Scotland on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Aberdeenshire North and Moray East: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party) MP
- Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party) 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.
- Average house price: Scottish figures come from Registers of Scotland.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for Scotland
- UK figures: UK average weekly earnings growth · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK population
- Other council areas in Scotland: Argyll and Bute · East Dunbartonshire · East Renfrewshire · Midlothian · Stirling · West Dunbartonshire
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average house price 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.