Sunderland: local statistics
Sunderland is a metropolitan borough in the North East, home to an estimated 287,070 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 Sunderland, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Full-time employees living in Sunderland earned a median £655.30 a week in April 2025 (£32,744 a year). It is the lowest in the North East, and 5.3% less than across the North East. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £642.20, £13.10 lower. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £460.00: a change of +42% before inflation.
A Band D home in Sunderland pays an average of £2,197.14 in council tax in 2026-27, up £104.35 on 2025-26. It is the lowest in the North East. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,403.42.
The average house price in Sunderland was £147,114 in July 2026, up 4.8% on a year before. Among council areas that puts it the 9th highest of 12 in the North East (regional average £166,943). Prices are 38% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. The average price is 4.5 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Sunderland. That ratio is mid-table in the North East, 7th of 12.
The ONS estimates that 287,070 people lived in Sunderland in mid-2025, up 0.1% on a year earlier. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +4.2%, against +5.8% for the North East as a whole, 9th of 12 in the North East, counting from the fastest growth. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Sunderland had a life expectancy at birth of 81.2 years; for men it was 77.1 (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.5 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.2 less. It is the 9th highest for women of 12 in the North East.
In March 2026, 7,830 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Sunderland, 6% more than in 2016. There are 27 per 1,000 residents, the 2nd lowest in the North East.
The claimant count for Sunderland stood at 6,865 in August 2026, or 3.8% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the North East was 3.7%. The rate was the same a year earlier. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.6% (December 2025) and 6.7% (August 2021).
An estimated 70.1% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Sunderland were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 3.7 points either way; the figure for the North East was 71.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 65.5% to 72.9%.
In the year to March 2026, 27,007 offences were recorded by police in Sunderland: 94.1 per 1,000 people, mid-table in the North East, 7th of 12. A year earlier it was 97.5. The highest rate in the series was 120.2, in the year to March 2019. Fraud is not included.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 275,408 |
| 2016 | 275,490 |
| 2017 | 274,816 |
| 2018 | 274,339 |
| 2019 | 274,277 |
| 2020 | 273,583 |
| 2021 | 274,378 |
| 2022 | 277,637 |
| 2023 | 282,669 |
| 2024 | 286,696 |
| 2025 | 287,070 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £106,575 |
| July 2017 | £107,709 |
| July 2018 | £108,011 |
| July 2019 | £109,271 |
| July 2020 | £112,754 |
| July 2021 | £123,149 |
| July 2022 | £132,293 |
| July 2023 | £134,734 |
| July 2024 | £130,152 |
| July 2025 | £140,370 |
| July 2026 | £147,114 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £460.00 a week |
| 2016 | £484.60 a week |
| 2017 | £485.80 a week |
| 2018 | £502.80 a week |
| 2019 | £497.60 a week |
| 2020 | £496.70 a week |
| 2021 | £484.50 a week |
| 2022 | £536.60 a week |
| 2023 | £585.20 a week |
| 2024 | £643.90 a week |
| 2025 | £655.30 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,403.42 |
| 2017-18 | £1,471.50 |
| 2018-19 | £1,550.47 |
| 2019-20 | £1,631.12 |
| 2020-21 | £1,691.84 |
| 2021-22 | £1,773.71 |
| 2022-23 | £1,831.59 |
| 2023-24 | £1,899.13 |
| 2024-25 | £1,996.60 |
| 2025-26 | £2,092.79 |
| 2026-27 | £2,197.14 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 70.3 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 90.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 117.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 120.2 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 114.6 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 97.7 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 101.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 104.2 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 103.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 97.5 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 94.1 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 65.5% |
| 2016/17 | 69.3% |
| 2017/18 | 71.8% |
| 2018/19 | 70.0% |
| 2019/20 | 70.5% |
| 2020/21 | 68.8% |
| 2021/22 | 68.8% |
| 2022/23 | 72.3% |
| 2023/24 | 72.9% |
| 2024/25 | 72.5% |
| 2025/26 | 70.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 80.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 80.9 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.1 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 80.9 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 80.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.0 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,410 |
| 2017 | 7,645 |
| 2018 | 7,520 |
| 2019 | 7,425 |
| 2020 | 7,615 |
| 2021 | 7,920 |
| 2022 | 7,880 |
| 2023 | 7,815 |
| 2024 | 7,725 |
| 2025 | 7,730 |
| 2026 | 7,830 |
Questions about Sunderland
What is the average salary in Sunderland?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Sunderland was £655.30 a week in April 2025 (£32,744 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How much is Band D council tax in Sunderland?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,197.14 for 2026-27.
What is the average house price in Sunderland?
£147,114 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+4.8% on a year).
What is the population of Sunderland?
287,070 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is life expectancy in Sunderland?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 77.1 years for men and 81.2 for women.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Sunderland?
The ONS claimant count was 6,865 in August 2026, 3.8% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Sunderland?
Home Office figures show 27,007 offences in the year to March 2026, or 94.1 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
Who has power over Sunderland
Every body that makes decisions for Sunderland, 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
- Sunderland council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Sunderland in official figures this page
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- North East Mayoral Combined Authority mayoral combined authority
- Northumbria Police police force
- NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board NHS
- South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS FT NHS
- North East in official figures
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
- Houghton and Sunderland South: Bridget Phillipson (Labour) MP
- Sunderland Central: Lewis Atkinson (Labour) MP
- Washington and Gateshead South: Mrs Sharon Hodgson (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 East
- UK figures: UK average weekly earnings growth · UK average house price · UK population
- Other council areas in the North East: Gateshead · Middlesbrough · Newcastle upon Tyne · North Tyneside · Northumberland · Stockton-on-Tees
Related questions
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.