Test Valley: local statistics
Test Valley is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 135,698 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 Test Valley, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A Band D home in Test Valley pays an average of £2,305.52 in council tax in 2026-27, 5.0% more than in 2025-26. It is the 59th highest of 64 in the South East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,469.17, so it has risen 57%.
The claimant count for Test Valley stood at 1,610 in August 2026, or 2.0% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the South East: 3.1%). Twelve months before, it was 1.9%. The five-year high was 2.5% (August 2021); the low was 1.7% (November 2023).
The police recorded 52.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in Test Valley in the year to March 2026 (7,055 offences in all), the 44th highest rate of 55 in the South East. A year earlier it was 55.4. In the year to March 2016 it was 51.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
135,698 people lived in Test Valley in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 0.4% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 11.0%, against +8.1% for the South East as a whole. That is the 17th fastest growth of 64 in the South East. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
An estimated 76.9% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Test Valley were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 6.7 points); the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 76.6% to 87.6%.
The average house price in Test Valley was £368,131 in July 2026, a fall of 0.6% in twelve months. That is close to the middle of the 64 council areas in the South East (36th highest) (regional average £380,878). The July peak was £375,687 in 2023, and prices are 32% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Test Valley (£40,576) gives a ratio of 9.1. That ratio is mid-table in the South East, 36th of 64.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Test Valley had a life expectancy at birth of 84.9 years; for men it was 82.0 (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.7 years for women and +0.9 for men. It is mid-table in the South East, 27th of 64.
The median full-time employee living in Test Valley was paid £795.30 a week before tax in April 2025 (£40,576 a year). It is close to the middle of the 64 council areas in the South East (37th highest), and 2.4% less than across the South East. Jobs based in Test Valley paid a median £741.60 a week, £53.70 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £601.80, so it has risen 32% before inflation.
In March 2026, 6,720 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Test Valley, 1% fewer than in 2016. That is 50 for every 1,000 residents, mid-table in the South East, 30th of 64.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 122,256 |
| 2016 | 124,155 |
| 2017 | 125,250 |
| 2018 | 126,474 |
| 2019 | 127,652 |
| 2020 | 128,858 |
| 2021 | 131,158 |
| 2022 | 132,879 |
| 2023 | 134,368 |
| 2024 | 135,169 |
| 2025 | 135,698 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £278,985 |
| July 2017 | £306,173 |
| July 2018 | £305,328 |
| July 2019 | £305,330 |
| July 2020 | £313,662 |
| July 2021 | £329,495 |
| July 2022 | £375,131 |
| July 2023 | £375,687 |
| July 2024 | £370,685 |
| July 2025 | £370,169 |
| July 2026 | £368,131 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £601.80 a week |
| 2016 | £617.90 a week |
| 2017 | £629.90 a week |
| 2018 | £662.10 a week |
| 2019 | £615.90 a week |
| 2020 | £603.40 a week |
| 2021 | £634.60 a week |
| 2022 | £694.90 a week |
| 2023 | £728.30 a week |
| 2024 | £753.90 a week |
| 2025 | £795.30 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,469.17 |
| 2017-18 | £1,534.66 |
| 2018-19 | £1,623.12 |
| 2019-20 | £1,687.16 |
| 2020-21 | £1,754.56 |
| 2021-22 | £1,837.92 |
| 2022-23 | £1,899.27 |
| 2023-24 | £1,995.82 |
| 2024-25 | £2,089.08 |
| 2025-26 | £2,196.53 |
| 2026-27 | £2,305.52 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 51.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 54.2 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 59.6 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 60.5 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 60.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 53.1 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 65.9 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 66.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 59.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 55.4 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 52.0 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 79.1% |
| 2016/17 | 80.2% |
| 2017/18 | 82.9% |
| 2018/19 | 81.3% |
| 2019/20 | 76.6% |
| 2020/21 | 86.4% |
| 2021/22 | 82.6% |
| 2022/23 | 77.4% |
| 2023/24 | 87.6% |
| 2024/25 | 78.1% |
| 2025/26 | 76.9% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.6 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.6 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.8 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 84.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.0 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.3 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,785 |
| 2017 | 7,035 |
| 2018 | 7,015 |
| 2019 | 7,630 |
| 2020 | 7,685 |
| 2021 | 7,230 |
| 2022 | 6,920 |
| 2023 | 6,850 |
| 2024 | 6,755 |
| 2025 | 6,605 |
| 2026 | 6,720 |
Questions about Test Valley
How much is Band D council tax in Test Valley?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,305.52 for 2026-27.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Test Valley?
The ONS claimant count was 1,610 in August 2026, 2.0% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Test Valley?
52.0 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the population of Test Valley?
135,698 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average house price in Test Valley?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £368,131.
What is life expectancy in Test Valley?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 82.0 years for men and 84.9 for women.
What is the average salary in Test Valley?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Test Valley was £795.30 a week in April 2025 (£40,576 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Who has power over Test Valley
Every body that makes decisions for Test Valley, 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
- Test Valley council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Test Valley 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
- Eastleigh: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat) MP
- North West Hampshire: Kit Malthouse (Conservative) MP
- Romsey and Southampton North: Caroline Nokes (Conservative) 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 · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK population
- Other council areas in the South East: Bracknell Forest · East Hampshire · Isle of Wight · Tonbridge and Malling · Waverley · Winchester
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate 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.