Swindon: local statistics
Swindon is a unitary authority in the South West, home to an estimated 245,286 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 Swindon, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The average house price in Swindon was £263,611 in July 2026, a rise of 2.6% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 22nd highest of the 26 council areas in the South West (regional average £302,298). Prices are 33% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Swindon (£38,900) gives a ratio of 6.8. That ratio is the 3rd lowest ratio of the 26 council areas in the South West.
In mid-2025 the population of Swindon was estimated at 245,286, up 0.8% on mid-2024. That is 23,481 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 10.6%, against +8.0% for the South West as a whole. That is the 5th fastest growth of the 27 council areas in the South West. No earlier year in the series was higher.
The claimant count for Swindon stood at 5,360 in August 2026, or 3.4% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the South West was 2.7%. Twelve months before, it was 3.3%. Over the last five years it peaked at 4.4% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.8% in July 2023.
A Band D home in Swindon pays an average of £2,438.10 in council tax in 2026-27, up £120.47 on 2025-26. That makes it the 20th highest of 27 in the South West. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,460.09, so it has risen 67%.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 76.1% of Swindon residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 3.5 points either way, against 79.0% across the South West. Its lowest reading in the series was 74.9% and its highest 81.7%.
Life expectancy at birth in Swindon is 83.7 years for women and 79.9 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.8 years for women and +0.5 for men. It is the 18th highest for women of 26 in the South West.
The median full-time employee living in Swindon was paid £758.10 a week before tax in April 2025 (£38,900 a year). That is 3.3% above the figure for the South West and 10th of 26 in the South West, counting from the highest. The workplace figure, £759.50, is within £5 of it. In 2015 the residents' median was £545.20, so it has risen 39% before inflation.
In March 2026, 8,785 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Swindon, 1% more than in 2016. There are 36 per 1,000 residents, 24th of 27 in the South West, counting from the highest.
In the year to March 2026, 16,965 offences were recorded by police in Swindon: 69.2 per 1,000 people, close to the middle of the 19 council areas in the South West (11th highest rate). That compares with 64.4 per 1,000 the year before. In the year to March 2016 it was 81.4 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 221,805 |
| 2016 | 224,498 |
| 2017 | 227,680 |
| 2018 | 230,174 |
| 2019 | 231,934 |
| 2020 | 232,574 |
| 2021 | 233,760 |
| 2022 | 236,108 |
| 2023 | 240,013 |
| 2024 | 243,324 |
| 2025 | 245,286 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £197,869 |
| July 2017 | £205,849 |
| July 2018 | £213,456 |
| July 2019 | £209,096 |
| July 2020 | £213,678 |
| July 2021 | £225,713 |
| July 2022 | £254,302 |
| July 2023 | £256,673 |
| July 2024 | £255,679 |
| July 2025 | £256,826 |
| July 2026 | £263,611 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £545.20 a week |
| 2016 | £551.80 a week |
| 2017 | £545.80 a week |
| 2018 | £568.40 a week |
| 2019 | £584.80 a week |
| 2020 | £597.60 a week |
| 2021 | £583.10 a week |
| 2022 | £670.80 a week |
| 2023 | £699.70 a week |
| 2024 | £713.80 a week |
| 2025 | £758.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,460.09 |
| 2017-18 | £1,591.35 |
| 2018-19 | £1,672.41 |
| 2019-20 | £1,755.15 |
| 2020-21 | £1,827.99 |
| 2021-22 | £1,921.79 |
| 2022-23 | £1,981.87 |
| 2023-24 | £2,086.20 |
| 2024-25 | £2,198.04 |
| 2025-26 | £2,317.63 |
| 2026-27 | £2,438.10 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 81.4 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 89.6 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 82.3 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 75.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 74.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 60.8 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 67.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 73.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 68.5 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 64.4 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 69.2 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 78.1% |
| 2016/17 | 80.5% |
| 2017/18 | 80.0% |
| 2018/19 | 79.2% |
| 2019/20 | 81.2% |
| 2020/21 | 77.6% |
| 2021/22 | 75.3% |
| 2022/23 | 74.9% |
| 2023/24 | 81.7% |
| 2024/25 | 79.2% |
| 2025/26 | 76.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.9 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.0 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.5 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.5 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.7 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,665 |
| 2017 | 9,110 |
| 2018 | 9,200 |
| 2019 | 9,275 |
| 2020 | 9,285 |
| 2021 | 9,180 |
| 2022 | 9,095 |
| 2023 | 8,730 |
| 2024 | 8,660 |
| 2025 | 8,695 |
| 2026 | 8,785 |
Questions about Swindon
What is the average house price in Swindon?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £263,611.
What is the population of Swindon?
The ONS estimates 245,286 people lived in Swindon in mid-2025.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Swindon?
The ONS claimant count was 5,360 in August 2026, 3.4% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Swindon?
£2,438.10 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is life expectancy in Swindon?
83.7 years for women and 79.9 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average salary in Swindon?
£758.10 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Swindon?
69.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
Who has power over Swindon
Every body that makes decisions for Swindon, 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
- Swindon council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Swindon 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
- East Wiltshire: Danny Kruger (Reform UK) MP
- Swindon North: Will Stone (Labour) MP
- Swindon South: Heidi Alexander (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 West
- UK figures: UK average house price · UK population · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South West: Bath and North East Somerset · East Devon · North Somerset · Plymouth · South Gloucestershire · Torbay
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.