Swale: local statistics
Swale is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 160,671 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 Swale, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Swale at £298,985 for July 2026, up 3.2% on a year before. It ranks as 54th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest; the average for the South East was £380,878. Since July 2016 prices have risen 34%; the July high in the series was £304,070 in 2023. The average price is 7.8 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Swale. That ratio is the 54th highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
In mid-2025 the population of Swale was estimated at 160,671, up 1.2% on a year earlier. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +12.6%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years. That is the 10th fastest growth of 64 in the South East. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
Life expectancy at birth in Swale is 83.2 years for women and 78.9 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.1 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.1 more. It is the 53rd highest for women of 64 in the South East.
Police recorded 13,541 crimes in Swale in the year to March 2026, 84.3 for every 1,000 residents, the 12th highest rate of 55 in the South East. A year earlier it was 90.2. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 69.7 to 113.1 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Average Band D council tax in Swale is £2,405.65 for 2026-27, 4.3% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 47th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,541.26, so it has risen 56%.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Swale was £761.00 in April 2025, or £38,432 over a year. That is 6.6% below the figure for the South East and the 46th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East. Jobs based in Swale paid a median £670.10 a week, £90.90 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £537.80, so it has risen 42% before inflation.
The claimant count for Swale stood at 3,410 in August 2026, or 3.5% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.1% in the South East. That compares with 3.4% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.4% (July 2026) and 5.2% (August 2021).
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 78.0% of Swale residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 6.4 points), against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 65.2% to 88.1%.
The ONS counted 6,185 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Swale in March 2026, 14% more than in 2016. There are 38 per 1,000 residents, the 55th highest of 64 in the South East.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 142,723 |
| 2016 | 145,184 |
| 2017 | 146,846 |
| 2018 | 148,400 |
| 2019 | 149,753 |
| 2020 | 150,584 |
| 2021 | 152,218 |
| 2022 | 154,683 |
| 2023 | 156,521 |
| 2024 | 158,754 |
| 2025 | 160,671 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £223,374 |
| July 2017 | £233,002 |
| July 2018 | £249,295 |
| July 2019 | £247,037 |
| July 2020 | £257,192 |
| July 2021 | £261,406 |
| July 2022 | £294,255 |
| July 2023 | £304,070 |
| July 2024 | £284,805 |
| July 2025 | £289,664 |
| July 2026 | £298,985 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £537.80 a week |
| 2016 | £546.20 a week |
| 2017 | £568.90 a week |
| 2018 | £598.30 a week |
| 2019 | £582.30 a week |
| 2020 | £574.30 a week |
| 2021 | £583.30 a week |
| 2022 | £670.30 a week |
| 2023 | £709.10 a week |
| 2024 | £749.60 a week |
| 2025 | £761.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,541.26 |
| 2017-18 | £1,598.48 |
| 2018-19 | £1,677.13 |
| 2019-20 | £1,773.63 |
| 2020-21 | £1,845.80 |
| 2021-22 | £1,934.83 |
| 2022-23 | £1,994.95 |
| 2023-24 | £2,094.44 |
| 2024-25 | £2,196.40 |
| 2025-26 | £2,305.72 |
| 2026-27 | £2,405.65 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 69.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 73.2 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 97.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 113.1 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 109.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 94.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 102.3 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 95.6 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 94.0 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 90.2 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 84.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 74.1% |
| 2016/17 | 74.9% |
| 2017/18 | 72.5% |
| 2018/19 | 65.2% |
| 2019/20 | 75.3% |
| 2020/21 | 79.7% |
| 2021/22 | 75.6% |
| 2022/23 | 76.7% |
| 2023/24 | 88.1% |
| 2024/25 | 75.4% |
| 2025/26 | 78.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.1 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.8 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.6 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.0 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 5,440 |
| 2017 | 5,700 |
| 2018 | 5,685 |
| 2019 | 5,830 |
| 2020 | 5,890 |
| 2021 | 5,885 |
| 2022 | 5,980 |
| 2023 | 5,895 |
| 2024 | 5,995 |
| 2025 | 6,045 |
| 2026 | 6,185 |
Questions about Swale
What is the average house price in Swale?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £298,985.
What is the population of Swale?
The ONS estimates 160,671 people lived in Swale in mid-2025.
What is life expectancy in Swale?
83.2 years for women and 78.9 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Swale?
Home Office figures show 13,541 offences in the year to March 2026, or 84.3 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How much is Band D council tax in Swale?
£2,405.65 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the average salary in Swale?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Swale was £761.00 a week in April 2025 (£38,432 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Swale?
3,410 in August 2026 (3.5% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
Who has power over Swale
Every body that makes decisions for Swale, 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
- Swale council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Swale in official figures this page
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- Kent County Council county council
- Kent Police police force
- NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board NHS
- South 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
- Faversham and Mid Kent: Helen Whately (Conservative) MP
- Sittingbourne and Sheppey: Kevin McKenna (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: Kent Police recorded some offences without a partnership area, so Kent figures may be lower than the full count. 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 · UK population · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the South East: Canterbury · Mid Sussex · Reigate and Banstead · South Oxfordshire · West Berkshire · Windsor and Maidenhead
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.