Oxford: local statistics
Oxford is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 165,940 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 Oxford, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A Band D home in Oxford pays an average of £2,678.40 in council tax in 2026-27, 4.7% more than in 2025-26. That makes it 4th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,737.64, so it has risen 54%.
The police recorded 96.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in Oxford in the year to March 2026 (15,987 offences in all), the 9th highest rate of 55 in the South East. The rate was 103.5 in the year to March 2025. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 85.3 to 104.0 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Homes in Oxford sold for an average of £471,667 in July 2026, down 2.3% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it 15th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest; the average for the South East was £380,878. The July peak was £482,950 in 2024, and prices are 11% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Oxford (£43,289) gives a ratio of 10.9. That ratio is the 12th highest ratio of the 64 council areas in the South East.
The ONS estimates that 165,940 people lived in Oxford in mid-2025, down 1.1% on mid-2024. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +4.9% (the South East: +8.1%), the 42nd fastest growth of the 64 council areas in the South East. The series peaked at 167,827 in mid-2024.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 81.7% of Oxford residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 5.7 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Its lowest reading in the series was 65.8% and its highest 83.7%.
A girl born in Oxford in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 84.1 years and a boy 80.7 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.4 years for women and +1.0 for men. It is mid-table in the South East, 36th of 64.
The claimant count for Oxford stood at 3,120 in August 2026, or 2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the South East: 3.1%). A year earlier the rate was 2.5%. The five-year high was 3.5% (August 2021); the low was 2.2% (December 2023).
Full-time employees living in Oxford earned a median £827.30 a week in April 2025 (£43,289 a year). It is mid-table in the South East, 31st of 64, and 1.5% more than across the South East. Jobs based in Oxford paid almost the same: a median £827.40 a week. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £556.80: a change of +49% before inflation.
In March 2026, 6,445 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Oxford, 3% more than in 2016. There are 39 per 1,000 residents, 53rd of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 158,156 |
| 2016 | 160,119 |
| 2017 | 160,754 |
| 2018 | 161,342 |
| 2019 | 160,789 |
| 2020 | 160,064 |
| 2021 | 160,379 |
| 2022 | 164,237 |
| 2023 | 167,251 |
| 2024 | 167,827 |
| 2025 | 165,940 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £423,429 |
| July 2017 | £435,224 |
| July 2018 | £435,793 |
| July 2019 | £419,472 |
| July 2020 | £419,833 |
| July 2021 | £456,059 |
| July 2022 | £473,596 |
| July 2023 | £480,689 |
| July 2024 | £482,950 |
| July 2025 | £482,879 |
| July 2026 | £471,667 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £556.80 a week |
| 2016 | £589.10 a week |
| 2017 | £631.60 a week |
| 2018 | £623.80 a week |
| 2019 | £636.30 a week |
| 2020 | £663.10 a week |
| 2021 | £667.30 a week |
| 2022 | £692.20 a week |
| 2023 | £716.80 a week |
| 2024 | £777.20 a week |
| 2025 | £827.30 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,737.64 |
| 2017-18 | £1,810.87 |
| 2018-19 | £1,912.27 |
| 2019-20 | £1,988.65 |
| 2020-21 | £2,063.56 |
| 2021-22 | £2,130.64 |
| 2022-23 | £2,225.43 |
| 2023-24 | £2,332.44 |
| 2024-25 | £2,441.91 |
| 2025-26 | £2,557.13 |
| 2026-27 | £2,678.40 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 89.4 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 93.1 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 101.0 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 100.1 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 104.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 85.3 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 100.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 101.2 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 96.7 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 103.5 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 96.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 74.5% |
| 2016/17 | 79.2% |
| 2017/18 | 81.6% |
| 2018/19 | 83.7% |
| 2019/20 | 81.0% |
| 2020/21 | 65.8% |
| 2021/22 | 74.0% |
| 2022/23 | 78.2% |
| 2023/24 | 78.9% |
| 2024/25 | 73.5% |
| 2025/26 | 81.7% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.2 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.3 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 84.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.1 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,270 |
| 2017 | 6,390 |
| 2018 | 6,235 |
| 2019 | 6,430 |
| 2020 | 6,460 |
| 2021 | 6,470 |
| 2022 | 6,495 |
| 2023 | 6,385 |
| 2024 | 6,350 |
| 2025 | 6,325 |
| 2026 | 6,445 |
Questions about Oxford
How much is Band D council tax in Oxford?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,678.40 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Oxford?
96.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average house price in Oxford?
£471,667 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-2.3% on a year).
What is the population of Oxford?
The ONS estimates 165,940 people lived in Oxford in mid-2025.
What is life expectancy in Oxford?
84.1 years for women and 80.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Oxford?
The ONS claimant count was 3,120 in August 2026, 2.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Oxford?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Oxford was £827.30 a week in April 2025 (£43,289 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Who has power over Oxford
Every body that makes decisions for Oxford, 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
- Oxford council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Oxford 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
- Oxford East: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Oxford West and Abingdon: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat) 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: Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK average house price · UK population
- Other council areas in the South East: Canterbury · Mid Sussex · Slough · Swale · Wealden · West Berkshire
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.