Sefton: local statistics
Sefton is a metropolitan borough in the North West, home to an estimated 287,583 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 Sefton, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A Band D home in Sefton pays an average of £2,583.22 in council tax in 2026-27, 5.0% more than in 2025-26. It is 7th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,617.31, so it has risen 60%.
In mid-2025 the population of Sefton was estimated at 287,583, up 0.8% on a year earlier. That is 12,037 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 4.4%; the North West grew by 8.2% over the same years. That is 28th of 35 in the North West, counting from the fastest growth. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Sefton at £224,289 for July 2026, a rise of 3.7% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 13th highest of 35 in the North West (regional average £221,445). This July figure is the highest in the series, 53% up on July 2016. The average price is 6.1 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Sefton. That ratio is 13th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest ratio.
Full-time employees living in Sefton earned a median £748.10 a week in April 2025, or £36,937 over a year. That is 1.8% above the figure for the North West and the 12th highest of all 35 council areas in the North West. For full-time jobs located in Sefton the median is £670.90 a week (−£77.20 on the residents' figure). In 2015 the residents' median was £473.70, so it has risen 58% before inflation.
A girl born in Sefton in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 82.0 years and a boy 78.7 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.2 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.7 more. It is the 14th highest for women of all 35 council areas in the North West.
In March 2026, 9,445 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Sefton, 3% more than in 2016. There are 33 per 1,000 residents, 28th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest.
3.8% of Sefton residents aged 16 to 64 (6,410 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for the North West was 4.2%. Twelve months before, it was 3.6%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.5% (April 2024) and 5.5% (August 2021).
In the year to March 2026, 21,620 offences were recorded by police in Sefton: 75.2 per 1,000 people, mid-table in the North West, 18th of 35. The rate was 76.6 in the year to March 2025. The highest rate in the series was 96.7, in the year to March 2022. Fraud is not included.
An estimated 74.3% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Sefton were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.6 points); the figure for the North West was 73.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 68.8% to 79.3%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 275,546 |
| 2016 | 276,707 |
| 2017 | 276,962 |
| 2018 | 277,890 |
| 2019 | 278,908 |
| 2020 | 278,621 |
| 2021 | 279,693 |
| 2022 | 280,956 |
| 2023 | 283,078 |
| 2024 | 285,298 |
| 2025 | 287,583 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £146,345 |
| July 2017 | £150,875 |
| July 2018 | £152,149 |
| July 2019 | £159,648 |
| July 2020 | £158,602 |
| July 2021 | £178,344 |
| July 2022 | £198,457 |
| July 2023 | £202,058 |
| July 2024 | £202,581 |
| July 2025 | £216,388 |
| July 2026 | £224,289 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £473.70 a week |
| 2016 | £510.80 a week |
| 2017 | £523.70 a week |
| 2018 | £541.20 a week |
| 2019 | £555.80 a week |
| 2020 | £562.30 a week |
| 2021 | £585.10 a week |
| 2022 | £593.90 a week |
| 2023 | £646.00 a week |
| 2024 | £680.20 a week |
| 2025 | £748.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,617.31 |
| 2017-18 | £1,690.10 |
| 2018-19 | £1,791.61 |
| 2019-20 | £1,882.87 |
| 2020-21 | £1,958.29 |
| 2021-22 | £2,057.10 |
| 2022-23 | £2,121.77 |
| 2023-24 | £2,230.11 |
| 2024-25 | £2,338.68 |
| 2025-26 | £2,460.92 |
| 2026-27 | £2,583.22 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 57.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 63.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 73.5 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 77.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 78.2 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 74.7 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 96.7 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 95.6 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 80.2 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 76.6 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 75.2 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 72.7% |
| 2016/17 | 68.8% |
| 2017/18 | 70.4% |
| 2018/19 | 75.6% |
| 2019/20 | 75.4% |
| 2020/21 | 73.5% |
| 2021/22 | 75.8% |
| 2022/23 | 77.3% |
| 2023/24 | 79.3% |
| 2024/25 | 74.0% |
| 2025/26 | 74.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.2 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.3 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.5 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.2 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.9 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 9,155 |
| 2017 | 9,565 |
| 2018 | 9,675 |
| 2019 | 9,490 |
| 2020 | 9,500 |
| 2021 | 9,565 |
| 2022 | 9,500 |
| 2023 | 9,495 |
| 2024 | 9,410 |
| 2025 | 9,400 |
| 2026 | 9,445 |
Questions about Sefton
How much is Band D council tax in Sefton?
£2,583.22 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the population of Sefton?
The ONS estimates 287,583 people lived in Sefton in mid-2025.
What is the average house price in Sefton?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £224,289.
What is the average salary in Sefton?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Sefton was £748.10 a week in April 2025 (£36,937 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is life expectancy in Sefton?
82.0 years for women and 78.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Sefton?
The ONS claimant count was 6,410 in August 2026, 3.8% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Sefton?
75.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
Who has power over Sefton
Every body that makes decisions for Sefton, 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
- Sefton council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Sefton 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
- Bootle: Peter Dowd (Labour) MP
- Liverpool Walton: Dan Carden (Labour) MP
- Sefton Central: Bill Esterson (Labour) MP
- Southport: Patrick Hurley (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 · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in the North West: Bolton · Cumberland · Oldham · Salford · Stockport · Wirral
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.