Rochdale: local statistics
Rochdale is a metropolitan borough in the North West, home to an estimated 237,641 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 Rochdale, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The claimant count for Rochdale stood at 8,675 in August 2026, or 6.0% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the North West: 4.2%). The rate was the same a year earlier. The five-year high was 7.5% (August 2021); the low was 5.3% (October 2023).
A Band D home in Rochdale pays an average of £2,600.83 in council tax in 2026-27, up £142.74 on 2025-26. It is the 5th highest of 35 in the North West. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,596.33, so it has risen 63%.
Police recorded 24,639 crimes in Rochdale in the year to March 2026, 103.7 for every 1,000 residents, the 7th highest rate of all 35 council areas in the North West. A year earlier it was 109.1. In the year to March 2016 it was 91.7 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
An estimated 67.1% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Rochdale were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 4.0 points); the figure for the North West was 73.8%. Its lowest reading in the series was 63.1% and its highest 73.3%.
Full-time employees living in Rochdale earned a median £689.50 a week in April 2025 (£34,660 a year). That is 6.2% below the figure for the North West and 27th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest. For full-time jobs located in Rochdale the median is £667.90 a week (−£21.60 on the residents' figure). In 2015 the residents' median was £463.40, so it has risen 49% before inflation.
The ONS estimates that 237,641 people lived in Rochdale in mid-2025, a change of +1.2% in a year. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 10.8%; the North West grew by 8.2% over the same years, the 10th fastest growth of all 35 council areas in the North West. No earlier year in the series was higher.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Rochdale had a life expectancy at birth of 81.3 years; for men it was 77.3 (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.6 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 more. It is the 23rd highest for women of all 35 council areas in the North West.
The average house price in Rochdale was £209,389 in July 2026, up 4.5% on a year before. It ranks as mid-table in the North West, 19th of 35; the average for the North West was £221,445. This July figure is the highest in the series, 80% up on July 2016. The average price is 6.0 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Rochdale. That ratio is the 14th highest ratio of all 35 council areas in the North West.
The ONS counted 8,360 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Rochdale in March 2026, 15% more than in 2016. There are 35 per 1,000 residents, the 23rd highest of 35 in the North West.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 214,560 |
| 2016 | 216,251 |
| 2017 | 218,492 |
| 2018 | 219,969 |
| 2019 | 222,042 |
| 2020 | 223,024 |
| 2021 | 224,127 |
| 2022 | 227,532 |
| 2023 | 230,729 |
| 2024 | 234,919 |
| 2025 | 237,641 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £116,494 |
| July 2017 | £119,938 |
| July 2018 | £125,878 |
| July 2019 | £134,854 |
| July 2020 | £137,509 |
| July 2021 | £161,913 |
| July 2022 | £175,724 |
| July 2023 | £183,137 |
| July 2024 | £188,820 |
| July 2025 | £200,336 |
| July 2026 | £209,389 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £463.40 a week |
| 2016 | £470.50 a week |
| 2017 | £463.80 a week |
| 2018 | £488.30 a week |
| 2019 | £491.50 a week |
| 2020 | £505.00 a week |
| 2021 | £518.40 a week |
| 2022 | £548.80 a week |
| 2023 | £647.30 a week |
| 2024 | £689.60 a week |
| 2025 | £689.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,596.33 |
| 2017-18 | £1,671.37 |
| 2018-19 | £1,763.68 |
| 2019-20 | £1,857.39 |
| 2020-21 | £1,944.52 |
| 2021-22 | £2,036.62 |
| 2022-23 | £2,110.26 |
| 2023-24 | £2,219.03 |
| 2024-25 | £2,330.24 |
| 2025-26 | £2,458.09 |
| 2026-27 | £2,600.83 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 91.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 105.1 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 121.9 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 123.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 98.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 105.0 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 128.8 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 135.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 113.2 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 109.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 103.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 63.1% |
| 2016/17 | 64.3% |
| 2017/18 | 67.9% |
| 2018/19 | 69.9% |
| 2019/20 | 71.3% |
| 2020/21 | 67.3% |
| 2021/22 | 65.7% |
| 2022/23 | 67.8% |
| 2023/24 | 73.3% |
| 2024/25 | 71.2% |
| 2025/26 | 67.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 80.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 80.7 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 80.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 80.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 80.9 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 80.8 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 80.5 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 80.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.3 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,260 |
| 2017 | 7,795 |
| 2018 | 9,365 |
| 2019 | 7,740 |
| 2020 | 7,735 |
| 2021 | 7,920 |
| 2022 | 8,120 |
| 2023 | 7,950 |
| 2024 | 7,995 |
| 2025 | 8,210 |
| 2026 | 8,360 |
Questions about Rochdale
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Rochdale?
The ONS claimant count was 8,675 in August 2026, 6.0% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Rochdale?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,600.83 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Rochdale?
103.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average salary in Rochdale?
£689.50 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of Rochdale?
237,641 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is life expectancy in Rochdale?
81.3 years for women and 77.3 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average house price in Rochdale?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £209,389.
Who has power over Rochdale
Every body that makes decisions for Rochdale, 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
- Rochdale council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Rochdale 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
- Blackley and Middleton South: Graham Stringer (Labour) MP
- Heywood and Middleton North: Mrs Elsie Blundell (Labour) MP
- Rochdale: Paul Waugh (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 North West
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK employment rate
- Other council areas in the North West: Bury · Oldham · Tameside · Trafford · Warrington · Westmorland and Furness
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average salary 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.