Tunbridge Wells: local statistics
Tunbridge Wells is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 120,098 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 Tunbridge Wells, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Homes in Tunbridge Wells sold for an average of £456,227 in July 2026, a rise of 0.6% in twelve months. That is the 18th highest of 64 in the South East (regional average £380,878). This July figure is the highest in the series, 25% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Tunbridge Wells (£47,896) gives a ratio of 9.5. That ratio is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (27th highest ratio).
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Tunbridge Wells was £871.10 in April 2025 (£47,896 a year). It is 15th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest, and 6.9% more than across the South East. For full-time jobs located in Tunbridge Wells the median is £707.80 a week (−£163.30 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £562.10: a change of +55% before inflation. The ONS advises using the residents' estimate with caution because it comes from a small sample.
120,098 people lived in Tunbridge Wells in mid-2025, according to the ONS, a change of +0.6% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +4.6%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years, the 44th fastest growth of all 64 council areas in the South East. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 76.9% of Tunbridge Wells residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 6.4 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 74.4% to 82.2%.
In August 2026, 1,805 people in Tunbridge Wells were on the claimant count, 2.5% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the South East: 3.1%). A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 2.2% (January 2024) and 3.4% (August 2021).
Average Band D council tax in Tunbridge Wells is £2,446.15 for 2026-27, up £98.95 on 2025-26. That makes it the 39th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,568.91, so it has risen 56%.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Tunbridge Wells had a life expectancy at birth of 84.9 years; for men it was 81.3, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.2 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 less. It is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (28th highest for women).
The Home Office does not publish recorded crime for Tunbridge Wells on its own for recent years, so this page gives the figure for the Kent police force area: 154,163 offences excluding fraud in the year to March 2026, 7,888 fewer than the year before.
In March 2026, 6,975 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Tunbridge Wells, 2% fewer than in 2016. That is 58 for every 1,000 residents, the 10th highest of 64 in the South East.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 114,769 |
| 2016 | 115,198 |
| 2017 | 115,559 |
| 2018 | 114,940 |
| 2019 | 115,158 |
| 2020 | 115,271 |
| 2021 | 115,650 |
| 2022 | 116,233 |
| 2023 | 117,720 |
| 2024 | 119,435 |
| 2025 | 120,098 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £364,863 |
| July 2017 | £378,563 |
| July 2018 | £391,237 |
| July 2019 | £379,712 |
| July 2020 | £368,748 |
| July 2021 | £412,159 |
| July 2022 | £451,564 |
| July 2023 | £437,371 |
| July 2024 | £423,235 |
| July 2025 | £453,566 |
| July 2026 | £456,227 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £562.10 a week |
| 2016 | £554.90 a week |
| 2017 | £583.40 a week |
| 2018 | £664.10 a week |
| 2019 | £688.50 a week |
| 2020 | £690.10 a week |
| 2021 | £698.50 a week |
| 2022 | £670.00 a week |
| 2023 | £774.80 a week |
| 2024 | £838.40 a week |
| 2025 | £871.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,568.91 |
| 2017-18 | £1,629.80 |
| 2018-19 | £1,709.15 |
| 2019-20 | £1,804.54 |
| 2020-21 | £1,875.70 |
| 2021-22 | £1,967.73 |
| 2022-23 | £2,029.76 |
| 2023-24 | £2,135.17 |
| 2024-25 | £2,237.66 |
| 2025-26 | £2,347.20 |
| 2026-27 | £2,446.15 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 74.9% |
| 2016/17 | 81.3% |
| 2017/18 | 81.0% |
| 2018/19 | 77.4% |
| 2019/20 | 78.7% |
| 2020/21 | 80.5% |
| 2021/22 | 74.4% |
| 2022/23 | 75.2% |
| 2023/24 | 82.2% |
| 2024/25 | 80.3% |
| 2025/26 | 76.9% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.1 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.0 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.2 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 84.1 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.8 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.8 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,135 |
| 2017 | 7,250 |
| 2018 | 7,295 |
| 2019 | 7,345 |
| 2020 | 7,245 |
| 2021 | 7,200 |
| 2022 | 7,110 |
| 2023 | 6,985 |
| 2024 | 6,965 |
| 2025 | 6,990 |
| 2026 | 6,975 |
Questions about Tunbridge Wells
What is the average house price in Tunbridge Wells?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £456,227.
What is the average salary in Tunbridge Wells?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Tunbridge Wells was £871.10 a week in April 2025 (£47,896 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Tunbridge Wells?
120,098 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Tunbridge Wells?
The ONS claimant count was 1,805 in August 2026, 2.5% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Tunbridge Wells?
£2,446.15 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is life expectancy in Tunbridge Wells?
84.9 years for women and 81.3 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Tunbridge Wells
Every body that makes decisions for Tunbridge Wells, 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
- Tunbridge Wells council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Tunbridge Wells 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
- Tunbridge Wells: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Weald of Kent: Katie Lam (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 (police force area): This figure covers the whole Kent police force area, not just Tunbridge Wells, because the Home Office tables do not give Tunbridge Wells on its own for recent years. It is the sum of the force's partnership rows, including offences not assigned to a partnership, and excludes fraud.
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 average weekly earnings growth · UK population
- Other council areas in the South East: Crawley · Dartford · Dover · Fareham · Sevenoaks · West Oxfordshire
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.