South Oxfordshire: local statistics
South Oxfordshire is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 158,084 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 South Oxfordshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
1.8% of South Oxfordshire residents aged 16 to 64 (1,750 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.1% in the South East. The rate was the same a year earlier. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 1.7% (June 2023) and 2.5% (August 2021).
A girl born in South Oxfordshire in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 86.0 years and a boy 82.2 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 1.3 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.6 more. It is the 3rd highest for women in the South East.
In the year to March 2026, 6,359 offences were recorded by police in South Oxfordshire: 40.2 per 1,000 people, the 3rd lowest rate in the South East. A year earlier it was 41.4. The highest rate in the series was 49.0, in the year to March 2020. Fraud is not included.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in South Oxfordshire took home £935.10 a week before tax, or £48,525 over a year. That is 14.7% above the figure for the South East and the 6th highest of 64 in the South East. Jobs based in South Oxfordshire paid a median £817.30 a week, £117.80 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £618.40: a change of +51% before inflation.
158,084 people lived in South Oxfordshire in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 1.1% on a year earlier. That is 17,824 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 12.7% (the South East: +8.1%), the 8th fastest growth of 64 in the South East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in South Oxfordshire at £476,026 for July 2026, a rise of 3.0% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 14th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East; the average for the South East was £380,878. Prices are 27% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 9.8 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in South Oxfordshire. That ratio is 22nd of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest ratio.
A Band D home in South Oxfordshire pays an average of £2,597.57 in council tax in 2026-27, up £123.13 on 2025-26. That makes it 11th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,640.13.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 83.7% of South Oxfordshire residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 5.3 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Its lowest reading in the series was 76.1% and its highest 87.9%.
8,790 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in South Oxfordshire in March 2026, 1% fewer than in 2016. That is 56 for every 1,000 residents, the 15th highest of 64 in the South East.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 140,260 |
| 2016 | 141,511 |
| 2017 | 142,115 |
| 2018 | 143,019 |
| 2019 | 144,875 |
| 2020 | 146,844 |
| 2021 | 150,002 |
| 2022 | 151,770 |
| 2023 | 153,986 |
| 2024 | 156,315 |
| 2025 | 158,084 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £374,994 |
| July 2017 | £375,346 |
| July 2018 | £386,779 |
| July 2019 | £395,298 |
| July 2020 | £401,647 |
| July 2021 | £425,341 |
| July 2022 | £463,773 |
| July 2023 | £459,713 |
| July 2024 | £459,896 |
| July 2025 | £462,303 |
| July 2026 | £476,026 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £618.40 a week |
| 2016 | £633.00 a week |
| 2017 | £691.30 a week |
| 2018 | £698.70 a week |
| 2019 | £725.10 a week |
| 2020 | £707.00 a week |
| 2021 | £727.40 a week |
| 2022 | £765.10 a week |
| 2023 | £815.30 a week |
| 2024 | £881.60 a week |
| 2025 | £935.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,640.13 |
| 2017-18 | £1,711.03 |
| 2018-19 | £1,811.33 |
| 2019-20 | £1,886.93 |
| 2020-21 | £1,965.45 |
| 2021-22 | £2,034.99 |
| 2022-23 | £2,133.19 |
| 2023-24 | £2,240.14 |
| 2024-25 | £2,356.55 |
| 2025-26 | £2,474.44 |
| 2026-27 | £2,597.57 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 36.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 38.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 43.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 45.2 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 49.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 43.9 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 45.6 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 45.2 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 43.4 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 41.4 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 40.2 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 87.7% |
| 2016/17 | 76.1% |
| 2017/18 | 77.3% |
| 2018/19 | 82.1% |
| 2019/20 | 87.9% |
| 2020/21 | 82.0% |
| 2021/22 | 79.5% |
| 2022/23 | 76.8% |
| 2023/24 | 84.3% |
| 2024/25 | 86.9% |
| 2025/26 | 83.7% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 85.0 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 85.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 85.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 85.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.5 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.4 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 85.5 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 85.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 85.8 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 86.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,880 |
| 2017 | 9,070 |
| 2018 | 9,080 |
| 2019 | 9,115 |
| 2020 | 9,225 |
| 2021 | 9,085 |
| 2022 | 8,940 |
| 2023 | 8,770 |
| 2024 | 8,765 |
| 2025 | 8,720 |
| 2026 | 8,790 |
Questions about South Oxfordshire
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in South Oxfordshire?
The ONS claimant count was 1,750 in August 2026, 1.8% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is life expectancy in South Oxfordshire?
86.0 years for women and 82.2 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the crime rate in South Oxfordshire?
Home Office figures show 6,359 offences in the year to March 2026, or 40.2 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average salary in South Oxfordshire?
£935.10 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of South Oxfordshire?
The ONS estimates 158,084 people lived in South Oxfordshire in mid-2025.
What is the average house price in South Oxfordshire?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £476,026.
How much is Band D council tax in South Oxfordshire?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,597.57 for 2026-27.
Who has power over South Oxfordshire
Every body that makes decisions for South Oxfordshire, 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
- South Oxfordshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- South Oxfordshire 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
- Didcot and Wantage: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Henley and Thame: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat) 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 South East
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the South East: Canterbury · Mid Sussex · Reigate and Banstead · Swale · Vale of White Horse · Windsor and Maidenhead
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 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.