Southampton: local statistics
Southampton is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 259,230 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 Southampton, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The average house price in Southampton was £235,977 in July 2026, up 2.4% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it the lowest in the South East; the average for the South East was £380,878. Since July 2016 prices have risen 23%; the July high in the series was £239,315 in 2023. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Southampton (£37,130) gives a ratio of 6.4. That ratio is the lowest ratio in the South East.
Police recorded 31,147 crimes in Southampton in the year to March 2026, 120.2 for every 1,000 residents, the highest rate in the South East. That compares with 120.4 per 1,000 the year before. The highest rate in the series was 140.9, in the year to March 2023. Fraud is not included.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Southampton had a life expectancy at birth of 82.6 years; for men it was 78.0, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.3 years for women and -0.1 for men. It is the 61st highest for women of 64 in the South East.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Southampton took home £724.40 a week before tax (£37,130 a year). It is the 55th highest of 64 in the South East, and 11.1% less than across the South East. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £781.50, £57.10 higher. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £502.40: a change of +44% before inflation.
4.2% of Southampton residents aged 16 to 64 (7,440 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.1% in the South East. Twelve months before, it was 4.0%. The five-year high was 5.7% (August 2021); the low was 3.8% (October 2023).
An estimated 73.3% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Southampton were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 3.8 points either way; the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.3% and its highest 79.7%.
Average Band D council tax in Southampton is £2,381.48 for 2026-27, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. It is 49th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,562.88.
The ONS counted 9,035 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Southampton in March 2026, 8% more than in 2016. There are 35 per 1,000 residents, the 2nd lowest of the 64 council areas in the South East.
259,230 people lived in Southampton in mid-2025, according to the ONS, a change of -0.5% in a year. That is 14,564 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 6.0%, against +8.1% for the South East as a whole. That is close to the middle of the 64 council areas in the South East (38th fastest growth). The series peaked at 260,604 in mid-2024.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 244,666 |
| 2016 | 248,662 |
| 2017 | 250,492 |
| 2018 | 250,803 |
| 2019 | 249,428 |
| 2020 | 248,679 |
| 2021 | 247,672 |
| 2022 | 252,949 |
| 2023 | 258,617 |
| 2024 | 260,604 |
| 2025 | 259,230 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £192,057 |
| July 2017 | £198,865 |
| July 2018 | £202,819 |
| July 2019 | £198,654 |
| July 2020 | £205,712 |
| July 2021 | £214,246 |
| July 2022 | £234,887 |
| July 2023 | £239,315 |
| July 2024 | £233,817 |
| July 2025 | £230,454 |
| July 2026 | £235,977 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £502.40 a week |
| 2016 | £498.30 a week |
| 2017 | £521.00 a week |
| 2018 | £527.10 a week |
| 2019 | £553.10 a week |
| 2020 | £561.00 a week |
| 2021 | £608.20 a week |
| 2022 | £642.80 a week |
| 2023 | £659.00 a week |
| 2024 | £689.90 a week |
| 2025 | £724.40 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,562.88 |
| 2017-18 | £1,635.98 |
| 2018-19 | £1,734.14 |
| 2019-20 | £1,804.69 |
| 2020-21 | £1,846.70 |
| 2021-22 | £1,941.28 |
| 2022-23 | £1,956.28 |
| 2023-24 | £2,058.36 |
| 2024-25 | £2,156.99 |
| 2025-26 | £2,266.44 |
| 2026-27 | £2,381.48 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 110.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 119.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 125.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 126.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 129.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 113.7 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 138.8 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 140.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 126.5 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 120.4 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 120.2 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 75.8% |
| 2016/17 | 71.3% |
| 2017/18 | 74.7% |
| 2018/19 | 73.3% |
| 2019/20 | 76.0% |
| 2020/21 | 79.7% |
| 2021/22 | 74.3% |
| 2022/23 | 76.7% |
| 2023/24 | 76.0% |
| 2024/25 | 78.9% |
| 2025/26 | 73.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.9 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.7 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.4 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.5 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.4 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.3 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,400 |
| 2017 | 8,645 |
| 2018 | 8,705 |
| 2019 | 8,940 |
| 2020 | 10,175 |
| 2021 | 10,590 |
| 2022 | 9,675 |
| 2023 | 9,385 |
| 2024 | 9,180 |
| 2025 | 9,005 |
| 2026 | 9,035 |
Questions about Southampton
What is the average house price in Southampton?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £235,977.
What is the crime rate in Southampton?
120.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is life expectancy in Southampton?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 78.0 years for men and 82.6 for women.
What is the average salary in Southampton?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Southampton was £724.40 a week in April 2025 (£37,130 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Southampton?
7,440 in August 2026 (4.2% 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 Southampton?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,381.48 for 2026-27.
What is the population of Southampton?
The ONS estimates 259,230 people lived in Southampton in mid-2025.
Who has power over Southampton
Every body that makes decisions for Southampton, 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
- Southampton council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Southampton 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
- Romsey and Southampton North: Caroline Nokes (Conservative) MP
- Southampton Itchen: Darren Paffey (Labour) MP
- Southampton Test: Satvir Kaur (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 South East
- UK figures: UK average house price · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the South East: Basingstoke and Deane · Brighton and Hove · Maidstone · Medway · Milton Keynes · Portsmouth
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.