Wakefield: local statistics
Wakefield is a metropolitan borough in the Yorkshire and the Humber, home to an estimated 369,450 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 Wakefield, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The ONS estimates that 369,450 people lived in Wakefield in mid-2025, a change of +0.7% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +10.6%, against +5.5% for the Yorkshire and the Humber as a whole, the fastest growth in the Yorkshire and the Humber. No earlier year in the series was higher.
Full-time employees living in Wakefield earned a median £689.10 a week in April 2025 (£34,400 a year). It is the 11th highest of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber, and 3.2% less than across the Yorkshire and the Humber. Jobs based in Wakefield paid a median £699.00 a week, £9.90 more than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £461.00: a change of +49% before inflation.
A Band D home in Wakefield pays an average of £2,296.89 in council tax in 2026-27, up £110.96 on 2025-26. That makes it 11th of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,445.97, so it has risen 59%.
A girl born in Wakefield in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.4 years and a boy 77.7 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.5 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.4 less. It is the 10th highest for women of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber.
Police recorded 38,883 crimes in Wakefield in the year to March 2026, 105.2 for every 1,000 residents, the 6th highest rate of 15 in the Yorkshire and the Humber. That compares with 112.8 per 1,000 the year before. The highest rate in the series was 136.2, in the year to March 2023. Fraud is not included.
A typical home in Wakefield cost £199,347 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, up 4.1% on July 2025. That is mid-table in the Yorkshire and the Humber, 7th of 15 (regional average £209,116). This July figure is the highest in the series, 55% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Wakefield (£34,400) gives a ratio of 5.8. That ratio is mid-table in the Yorkshire and the Humber, 7th of 15.
The claimant count for Wakefield stood at 8,745 in August 2026, or 3.8% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 4.1% in the Yorkshire and the Humber. That compares with 3.5% a year before. The five-year high was 4.9% (August 2021); the low was 3.3% (October 2023).
An estimated 75.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Wakefield were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.4 points); the figure for the Yorkshire and the Humber was 73.3%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 71.0% to 75.4%.
The ONS counted 12,570 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Wakefield in March 2026, 9% more than in 2016. That is 34 for every 1,000 residents, the 12th highest of all 15 council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 333,908 |
| 2016 | 337,365 |
| 2017 | 340,749 |
| 2018 | 344,437 |
| 2019 | 348,201 |
| 2020 | 350,978 |
| 2021 | 353,803 |
| 2022 | 357,912 |
| 2023 | 362,336 |
| 2024 | 366,925 |
| 2025 | 369,450 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £128,665 |
| July 2017 | £135,366 |
| July 2018 | £137,756 |
| July 2019 | £141,742 |
| July 2020 | £146,636 |
| July 2021 | £166,145 |
| July 2022 | £182,226 |
| July 2023 | £185,449 |
| July 2024 | £189,146 |
| July 2025 | £191,490 |
| July 2026 | £199,347 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £461.00 a week |
| 2016 | £479.80 a week |
| 2017 | £484.00 a week |
| 2018 | £511.10 a week |
| 2019 | £518.50 a week |
| 2020 | £498.10 a week |
| 2021 | £523.70 a week |
| 2022 | £573.50 a week |
| 2023 | £615.90 a week |
| 2024 | £644.90 a week |
| 2025 | £689.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,445.97 |
| 2017-18 | £1,512.63 |
| 2018-19 | £1,590.01 |
| 2019-20 | £1,668.91 |
| 2020-21 | £1,734.73 |
| 2021-22 | £1,808.42 |
| 2022-23 | £1,882.64 |
| 2023-24 | £1,980.54 |
| 2024-25 | £2,079.80 |
| 2025-26 | £2,185.93 |
| 2026-27 | £2,296.89 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 81.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 95.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 106.4 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 122.0 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 118.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 103.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 123.9 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 136.2 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 121.9 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 112.8 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 105.2 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 71.0% |
| 2016/17 | 73.5% |
| 2017/18 | 74.1% |
| 2018/19 | 74.3% |
| 2019/20 | 74.8% |
| 2020/21 | 74.7% |
| 2021/22 | 73.5% |
| 2022/23 | 74.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74.5% |
| 2024/25 | 72.9% |
| 2025/26 | 75.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.9 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.0 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.8 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.8 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.4 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.4 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 11,510 |
| 2017 | 11,945 |
| 2018 | 11,825 |
| 2019 | 12,130 |
| 2020 | 12,270 |
| 2021 | 12,495 |
| 2022 | 12,380 |
| 2023 | 12,320 |
| 2024 | 12,345 |
| 2025 | 12,470 |
| 2026 | 12,570 |
Questions about Wakefield
What is the population of Wakefield?
369,450 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average salary in Wakefield?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Wakefield was £689.10 a week in April 2025 (£34,400 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How much is Band D council tax in Wakefield?
£2,296.89 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is life expectancy in Wakefield?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 77.7 years for men and 81.4 for women.
What is the crime rate in Wakefield?
105.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average house price in Wakefield?
£199,347 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+4.1% on a year).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Wakefield?
The ONS claimant count was 8,745 in August 2026, 3.8% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
Who has power over Wakefield
Every body that makes decisions for Wakefield, 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
- Wakefield council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Wakefield 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
- Normanton and Hemsworth: Jon Trickett (Labour) MP
- Ossett and Denby Dale: Jade Botterill (Labour) MP
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley: Yvette Cooper (Labour) MP
- Wakefield and Rothwell: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op)) 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 Yorkshire and the Humber
- UK figures: UK population · UK average weekly earnings growth · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the Yorkshire and the Humber: Barnsley · Doncaster · East Riding of Yorkshire · Kingston upon Hull, City of · Kirklees · Rotherham
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How healthy is my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.