Preston: local statistics
Preston is a district council area in the North West, home to an estimated 164,498 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 Preston, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In mid-2025 the population of Preston was estimated at 164,498, up 1.8% on mid-2024. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 17.0% (the North West: +8.2%). That is the 2nd fastest growth of the 35 council areas in the North West. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
The average house price in Preston was £188,629 in July 2026, a rise of 7.3% in twelve months. It ranks as 27th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest; the average for the North West was £221,445. Prices are 41% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 5.1 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Preston. That ratio is the 27th highest ratio of 35 in the North West.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Preston is £2,575.74, up £97.89 on 2025-26. It is the 8th highest of 35 in the North West. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,698.10, so it has risen 52%.
In the year to March 2026, 16,068 offences were recorded by police in Preston: 97.7 per 1,000 people, the 9th highest rate of the 35 council areas in the North West. That compares with 99.8 per 1,000 the year before. In the year to March 2016 it was 88.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The claimant count for Preston stood at 4,990 in August 2026, or 4.6% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 4.2% in the North West. That compares with 4.5% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.9% (January 2023) and 5.5% (August 2021).
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Preston took home £722.40 a week before tax (£37,214 a year). That is 1.7% below the figure for the North West and close to the middle of the 35 council areas in the North West (21st highest). Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £767.00, £44.60 higher. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £434.90: a change of +66% before inflation.
An estimated 75.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Preston were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 6.4 points either way; the figure for the North West was 73.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 66.7% to 82.0%.
A girl born in Preston in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.6 years and a boy 76.9 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.3 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.4 less. It is close to the middle of the 35 council areas in the North West (19th highest for women).
7,295 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Preston in March 2026, 16% more than in 2016. That is 44 for every 1,000 residents, 10th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 140,615 |
| 2016 | 140,468 |
| 2017 | 141,734 |
| 2018 | 142,417 |
| 2019 | 144,624 |
| 2020 | 145,912 |
| 2021 | 147,786 |
| 2022 | 152,462 |
| 2023 | 158,206 |
| 2024 | 161,593 |
| 2025 | 164,498 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £134,021 |
| July 2017 | £132,365 |
| July 2018 | £135,059 |
| July 2019 | £136,638 |
| July 2020 | £138,074 |
| July 2021 | £151,485 |
| July 2022 | £164,592 |
| July 2023 | £168,644 |
| July 2024 | £173,606 |
| July 2025 | £175,763 |
| July 2026 | £188,629 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £434.90 a week |
| 2016 | £479.10 a week |
| 2017 | £459.80 a week |
| 2018 | £501.70 a week |
| 2019 | £506.00 a week |
| 2020 | £509.80 a week |
| 2021 | £534.50 a week |
| 2022 | £574.90 a week |
| 2023 | £656.00 a week |
| 2024 | £693.90 a week |
| 2025 | £722.40 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,698.10 |
| 2017-18 | £1,754.56 |
| 2018-19 | £1,852.46 |
| 2019-20 | £1,940.67 |
| 2020-21 | £2,012.43 |
| 2021-22 | £2,091.49 |
| 2022-23 | £2,171.31 |
| 2023-24 | £2,262.11 |
| 2024-25 | £2,365.48 |
| 2025-26 | £2,477.85 |
| 2026-27 | £2,575.74 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 88.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 95.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 118.9 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 147.1 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 120.2 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 98.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 120.3 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 114.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 100.5 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 99.8 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 97.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 69.4% |
| 2016/17 | 68.1% |
| 2017/18 | 77.2% |
| 2018/19 | 75.9% |
| 2019/20 | 82.0% |
| 2020/21 | 67.4% |
| 2021/22 | 66.7% |
| 2022/23 | 72.7% |
| 2023/24 | 76.7% |
| 2024/25 | 70.9% |
| 2025/26 | 75.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.7 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.6 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 80.8 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 80.4 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.3 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,280 |
| 2017 | 6,415 |
| 2018 | 6,385 |
| 2019 | 6,590 |
| 2020 | 6,645 |
| 2021 | 6,815 |
| 2022 | 6,890 |
| 2023 | 6,855 |
| 2024 | 6,870 |
| 2025 | 7,015 |
| 2026 | 7,295 |
Questions about Preston
What is the population of Preston?
164,498 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average house price in Preston?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £188,629.
How much is Band D council tax in Preston?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,575.74 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Preston?
97.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Preston?
The ONS claimant count was 4,990 in August 2026, 4.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Preston?
£722.40 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in Preston?
81.6 years for women and 76.9 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Preston
Every body that makes decisions for Preston, 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
- Preston council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Preston 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
- Preston: Sir Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Ribble Valley: Maya Ellis (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 North West
- UK figures: UK population · UK average house price · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the North West: Blackburn with Darwen · Blackpool · Halton · Knowsley · Lancaster · St. Helens
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- 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.