Shropshire: local statistics
Shropshire is a unitary authority in the West Midlands, home to an estimated 333,162 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 Shropshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Police recorded 15,813 crimes in Shropshire in the year to March 2026, 47.5 for every 1,000 residents, the lowest rate of all 22 council areas in the West Midlands. The rate was 49.1 in the year to March 2025. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 45.9 to 57.9 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
18,080 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Shropshire in March 2026, 3% more than in 2016. That is 54 for every 1,000 residents, the 4th highest of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands.
In August 2026, 4,675 people in Shropshire were on the claimant count, 2.4% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the West Midlands was 5.3%. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. The five-year high was 3.4% (August 2021); the low was 2.2% (January 2024).
Average Band D council tax in Shropshire is £2,528.18 for 2026-27, up £209.38 on 2025-26. It is the 5th highest of 30 in the West Midlands. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,558.32.
Life expectancy at birth in Shropshire is 84.0 years for women and 80.4 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.0 years for women and +0.3 for men. It is 7th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest for women.
The average house price in Shropshire was £275,232 in July 2026, down 1.3% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it 10th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest; the average for the West Midlands was £250,880. Since July 2016 prices have risen 43%; the July high in the series was £278,726 in 2025. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Shropshire (£36,991) gives a ratio of 7.4. That ratio is the 9th highest ratio of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 79.3% of Shropshire residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 3.3 points either way, against 73.6% across the West Midlands. Its lowest reading in the series was 76.2% and its highest 83.5%.
The ONS estimates that 333,162 people lived in Shropshire in mid-2025, up 0.4% on a year earlier. That is 22,411 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 7.2% (the West Midlands: +7.8%). That is close to the middle of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands (16th fastest growth). The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
The median full-time employee living in Shropshire was paid £727.00 a week before tax in April 2025 (£36,991 a year). That is 0.5% below the figure for the West Midlands and mid-table in the West Midlands, 16th of 30. Jobs based in Shropshire paid a median £680.40 a week, £46.60 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £491.90: a change of +48% before inflation.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 310,751 |
| 2016 | 312,836 |
| 2017 | 315,232 |
| 2018 | 317,112 |
| 2019 | 319,729 |
| 2020 | 321,054 |
| 2021 | 324,669 |
| 2022 | 327,098 |
| 2023 | 329,211 |
| 2024 | 331,751 |
| 2025 | 333,162 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £193,048 |
| July 2017 | £199,227 |
| July 2018 | £208,030 |
| July 2019 | £209,449 |
| July 2020 | £212,939 |
| July 2021 | £236,150 |
| July 2022 | £259,323 |
| July 2023 | £264,568 |
| July 2024 | £265,035 |
| July 2025 | £278,726 |
| July 2026 | £275,232 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £491.90 a week |
| 2016 | £518.70 a week |
| 2017 | £517.30 a week |
| 2018 | £557.40 a week |
| 2019 | £555.90 a week |
| 2020 | £574.90 a week |
| 2021 | £575.40 a week |
| 2022 | £637.60 a week |
| 2023 | £670.50 a week |
| 2024 | £699.10 a week |
| 2025 | £727.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,558.32 |
| 2017-18 | £1,610.77 |
| 2018-19 | £1,700.46 |
| 2019-20 | £1,778.96 |
| 2020-21 | £1,849.80 |
| 2021-22 | £1,925.74 |
| 2022-23 | £1,999.60 |
| 2023-24 | £2,100.66 |
| 2024-25 | £2,203.66 |
| 2025-26 | £2,318.80 |
| 2026-27 | £2,528.18 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 45.9 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 48.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 52.9 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 57.5 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 54.7 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 46.5 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 52.8 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 57.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 54.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 49.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 47.5 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 81.4% |
| 2016/17 | 78.1% |
| 2017/18 | 77.7% |
| 2018/19 | 83.5% |
| 2019/20 | 79.6% |
| 2020/21 | 76.3% |
| 2021/22 | 76.2% |
| 2022/23 | 77.3% |
| 2023/24 | 80.7% |
| 2024/25 | 79.3% |
| 2025/26 | 79.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.0 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.7 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.4 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.6 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.7 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.0 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 17,615 |
| 2017 | 17,795 |
| 2018 | 17,865 |
| 2019 | 17,995 |
| 2020 | 18,025 |
| 2021 | 17,925 |
| 2022 | 18,070 |
| 2023 | 17,935 |
| 2024 | 17,980 |
| 2025 | 17,950 |
| 2026 | 18,080 |
Questions about Shropshire
What is the crime rate in Shropshire?
Home Office figures show 15,813 offences in the year to March 2026, or 47.5 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Shropshire?
4,675 in August 2026 (2.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
How much is Band D council tax in Shropshire?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,528.18 for 2026-27.
What is life expectancy in Shropshire?
84.0 years for women and 80.4 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average house price in Shropshire?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £275,232.
What is the population of Shropshire?
333,162 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average salary in Shropshire?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Shropshire was £727.00 a week in April 2025 (£36,991 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Who has power over Shropshire
Every body that makes decisions for Shropshire, 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
- Shropshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Shropshire 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 Shropshire: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Shrewsbury: Julia Buckley (Labour) MP
- South Shropshire: Stuart Anderson (Conservative) MP
- The Wrekin: Mark Pritchard (Conservative) 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 West Midlands
- UK figures: Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK unemployment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the West Midlands: Coventry · Dudley · Sandwell · Stoke-on-Trent · Walsall · Wolverhampton
Related questions
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How healthy is my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.