Thanet: local statistics
Thanet is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 143,618 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 Thanet, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The claimant count for Thanet stood at 4,455 in August 2026, or 5.4% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.1% in the South East. Twelve months before, it was 4.9%. Over the last five years it peaked at 8.0% in August 2021 and was lowest at 4.9% in September 2025.
A girl born in Thanet in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 82.0 years and a boy 77.2 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.5 years for women and -0.9 for men. It is the 2nd lowest for women of all 64 council areas in the South East.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Thanet at £269,708 for July 2026, a rise of 1.8% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 58th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East (regional average £380,878). Since July 2016 prices have risen 38%; the July high in the series was £297,149 in 2022. The average price is 7.5 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Thanet. That ratio is the 56th highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
In the year to March 2026, 14,750 offences were recorded by police in Thanet: 102.7 per 1,000 people, the 6th highest rate of all 55 council areas in the South East. That compares with 107.7 per 1,000 the year before. The highest rate in the series was 148.9, in the year to March 2019. Fraud is not included.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Thanet took home £721.00 a week before tax, or £35,775 over a year. It is the 57th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East, and 11.6% less than across the South East. Jobs based in Thanet paid a median £708.30 a week, £12.70 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £438.00, so it has risen 65% before inflation.
Thanet had an estimated 143,618 residents in mid-2025, up 1.0% on a year earlier. That is 3,950 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 2.8%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years, the 53rd fastest growth of 64 in the South East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 72.5% of Thanet residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 7.1 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 65.4% to 77.0%.
The ONS counted 5,560 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Thanet in March 2026, 24% more than in 2016. That is 39 for every 1,000 residents, 54th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Thanet is £2,490.90, 4.2% more than in 2025-26. It is mid-table in the South East, 32nd of 64. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,600.79.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 139,668 |
| 2016 | 140,373 |
| 2017 | 140,680 |
| 2018 | 140,848 |
| 2019 | 140,624 |
| 2020 | 139,945 |
| 2021 | 140,658 |
| 2022 | 140,511 |
| 2023 | 140,794 |
| 2024 | 142,158 |
| 2025 | 143,618 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £195,610 |
| July 2017 | £212,194 |
| July 2018 | £227,490 |
| July 2019 | £229,133 |
| July 2020 | £231,281 |
| July 2021 | £254,641 |
| July 2022 | £297,149 |
| July 2023 | £285,710 |
| July 2024 | £272,398 |
| July 2025 | £265,007 |
| July 2026 | £269,708 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £438.00 a week |
| 2016 | £462.30 a week |
| 2017 | £480.20 a week |
| 2018 | £522.80 a week |
| 2019 | £509.10 a week |
| 2020 | £522.50 a week |
| 2021 | £556.60 a week |
| 2022 | £596.70 a week |
| 2023 | £625.40 a week |
| 2024 | £696.10 a week |
| 2025 | £721.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,600.79 |
| 2017-18 | £1,662.07 |
| 2018-19 | £1,749.24 |
| 2019-20 | £1,845.72 |
| 2020-21 | £1,920.50 |
| 2021-22 | £2,009.54 |
| 2022-23 | £2,070.35 |
| 2023-24 | £2,173.17 |
| 2024-25 | £2,276.45 |
| 2025-26 | £2,391.23 |
| 2026-27 | £2,490.90 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 84.1 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 94.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 126.9 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 148.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 139.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 120.3 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 127.8 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 120.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 108.1 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 107.7 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 102.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 72.7% |
| 2016/17 | 71.9% |
| 2017/18 | 76.9% |
| 2018/19 | 75.0% |
| 2019/20 | 69.4% |
| 2020/21 | 65.4% |
| 2021/22 | 68.1% |
| 2022/23 | 77.0% |
| 2023/24 | 72.4% |
| 2024/25 | 67.1% |
| 2025/26 | 72.5% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.5 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.1 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.5 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.0 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.9 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 4,480 |
| 2017 | 4,675 |
| 2018 | 4,745 |
| 2019 | 4,815 |
| 2020 | 4,900 |
| 2021 | 5,015 |
| 2022 | 5,205 |
| 2023 | 5,265 |
| 2024 | 5,330 |
| 2025 | 5,410 |
| 2026 | 5,560 |
Questions about Thanet
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Thanet?
4,455 in August 2026 (5.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is life expectancy in Thanet?
82.0 years for women and 77.2 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average house price in Thanet?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £269,708.
What is the crime rate in Thanet?
Home Office figures show 14,750 offences in the year to March 2026, or 102.7 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average salary in Thanet?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Thanet was £721.00 a week in April 2025 (£35,775 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Thanet?
The ONS estimates 143,618 people lived in Thanet in mid-2025.
How much is Band D council tax in Thanet?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,490.90 for 2026-27.
Who has power over Thanet
Every body that makes decisions for Thanet, 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
- Thanet council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Thanet 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 Thanet: Ms Polly Billington (Labour) MP
- Herne Bay and Sandwich: Sir Roger Gale (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: 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 unemployment rate · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK average house price
- Other council areas in the South East: Ashford · Eastleigh · Elmbridge · Isle of Wight · Tonbridge and Malling · Waverley
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.