Peterborough: local statistics
Peterborough is a unitary authority in the East of England, home to an estimated 224,757 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 Peterborough, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
5.4% of Peterborough residents aged 16 to 64 (7,545 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for the East of England was 3.3%. Twelve months before, it was 5.3%. Over the last five years it peaked at 6.4% in August 2021 and was lowest at 4.5% in January 2023.
Life expectancy at birth in Peterborough is 81.9 years for women and 78.1 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.5 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.4 less. It is the 2nd lowest for women in the East of England.
Police recorded 23,770 crimes in Peterborough in the year to March 2026, 105.8 for every 1,000 residents, the 2nd highest rate of all 42 council areas in the East of England. That compares with 100.2 per 1,000 the year before. The highest rate in the series was 113.8, in the year to March 2023. Fraud is not included.
The average house price in Peterborough was £234,690 in July 2026, down 0.2% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it the 41st highest of 45 in the East of England (regional average £337,518). Since July 2016 prices have risen 42%; the July high in the series was £235,152 in 2025. The average price is 6.7 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Peterborough. That ratio is the 40th highest ratio of all 45 council areas in the East of England.
9,655 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Peterborough in March 2026, 23% more than in 2016. That is 43 for every 1,000 residents, 34th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest.
The median full-time employee living in Peterborough was paid £710.60 a week before tax in April 2025, or £35,196 over a year. It is the 39th highest of all 45 council areas in the East of England, and 11.7% less than across the East of England. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £729.60, £19.00 higher. In 2015 the residents' median was £460.50, so it has risen 54% before inflation.
The ONS estimates that 224,757 people lived in Peterborough in mid-2025, up 0.3% on a year earlier. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +12.2% (the East of England: +8.5%), the 8th fastest growth of all 45 council areas in the East of England. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
Average Band D council tax in Peterborough is £2,293.47 for 2026-27, up £107.75 on 2025-26. That makes it the 38th highest of 45 in the East of England. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,432.35.
An estimated 78.1% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Peterborough were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.8 points); the figure for the East of England was 78.3%. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.2% and its highest 78.1%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 200,246 |
| 2016 | 205,091 |
| 2017 | 208,237 |
| 2018 | 211,037 |
| 2019 | 213,026 |
| 2020 | 213,718 |
| 2021 | 216,470 |
| 2022 | 218,712 |
| 2023 | 221,822 |
| 2024 | 224,152 |
| 2025 | 224,757 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £164,818 |
| July 2017 | £175,225 |
| July 2018 | £185,192 |
| July 2019 | £186,817 |
| July 2020 | £190,595 |
| July 2021 | £203,545 |
| July 2022 | £226,976 |
| July 2023 | £228,696 |
| July 2024 | £227,821 |
| July 2025 | £235,152 |
| July 2026 | £234,690 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £460.50 a week |
| 2016 | £466.30 a week |
| 2017 | £460.00 a week |
| 2018 | £481.10 a week |
| 2019 | £525.00 a week |
| 2020 | £537.90 a week |
| 2021 | £564.70 a week |
| 2022 | £590.10 a week |
| 2023 | £671.70 a week |
| 2024 | £678.30 a week |
| 2025 | £710.60 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,432.35 |
| 2017-18 | £1,496.04 |
| 2018-19 | £1,583.23 |
| 2019-20 | £1,649.45 |
| 2020-21 | £1,714.55 |
| 2021-22 | £1,799.89 |
| 2022-23 | £1,855.85 |
| 2023-24 | £1,963.41 |
| 2024-25 | £2,082.65 |
| 2025-26 | £2,185.72 |
| 2026-27 | £2,293.47 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 84.0 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 100.1 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 110.4 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 101.0 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 103.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 93.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 104.6 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 113.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 104.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 100.2 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 105.8 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 75.2% |
| 2016/17 | 75.9% |
| 2017/18 | 71.9% |
| 2018/19 | 75.3% |
| 2019/20 | 73.7% |
| 2020/21 | 75.3% |
| 2021/22 | 75.0% |
| 2022/23 | 74.4% |
| 2023/24 | 71.2% |
| 2024/25 | 74.9% |
| 2025/26 | 78.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.3 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.6 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.4 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.8 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,880 |
| 2017 | 8,400 |
| 2018 | 8,425 |
| 2019 | 8,790 |
| 2020 | 9,135 |
| 2021 | 9,415 |
| 2022 | 9,565 |
| 2023 | 9,670 |
| 2024 | 9,395 |
| 2025 | 9,540 |
| 2026 | 9,655 |
Questions about Peterborough
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Peterborough?
7,545 in August 2026 (5.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is life expectancy in Peterborough?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 78.1 years for men and 81.9 for women.
What is the crime rate in Peterborough?
Home Office figures show 23,770 offences in the year to March 2026, or 105.8 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average house price in Peterborough?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £234,690.
What is the average salary in Peterborough?
£710.60 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of Peterborough?
The ONS estimates 224,757 people lived in Peterborough in mid-2025.
How much is Band D council tax in Peterborough?
£2,293.47 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
Who has power over Peterborough
Every body that makes decisions for Peterborough, 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
- Peterborough council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Peterborough 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
- North West Cambridgeshire: Sam Carling (Labour) MP
- Peterborough: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op)) 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 of England
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the East of England: Basildon · Bedford · Colchester · East Suffolk · Huntingdonshire · Luton
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in 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.