Wealden: local statistics
Wealden is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 168,308 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 Wealden, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A Band D home in Wealden pays an average of £2,728.43 in council tax in 2026-27, 4.6% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 2nd highest in the South East. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,758.19.
In the year to March 2026, 6,852 offences were recorded by police in Wealden: 40.7 per 1,000 people, 52nd of 55 in the South East, counting from the highest rate. The rate was 40.1 in the year to March 2025. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 30.7 to 43.5 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
9,540 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Wealden in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. That is 57 for every 1,000 residents, the 12th highest of the 64 council areas in the South East.
Full-time employees living in Wealden earned a median £865.90 a week in April 2025, or £43,589 over a year. It is the 17th highest of 64 in the South East, and 6.2% more than across the South East. Jobs based in Wealden paid a median £705.50 a week, £160.40 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £573.60: a change of +51% before inflation.
2.4% of Wealden residents aged 16 to 64 (2,275 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026 (the South East: 3.1%). A year earlier the rate was 2.2%. The five-year high was 3.2% (August 2021); the low was 1.9% (October 2023).
A girl born in Wealden in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 85.0 years and a boy 82.5 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.1 years for women and +1.1 for men. It is 24th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest for women.
The average house price in Wealden was £391,211 in July 2026, a fall of 0.8% in twelve months. It ranks as mid-table in the South East, 31st of 64; the average for the South East was £380,878. The July peak was £407,098 in 2022, and prices are 24% above July 2016. The average price is 9.0 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Wealden. That ratio is the 39th highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
In mid-2025 the population of Wealden was estimated at 168,308, up 0.9% on mid-2024. That is 12,947 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 8.3%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years. That is mid-table in the South East, 31st of 64. No earlier year in the series was higher.
An estimated 80.5% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Wealden were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 5.6 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 72.0% to 82.3%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 155,361 |
| 2016 | 156,056 |
| 2017 | 156,379 |
| 2018 | 156,791 |
| 2019 | 157,543 |
| 2020 | 158,291 |
| 2021 | 160,711 |
| 2022 | 162,974 |
| 2023 | 164,834 |
| 2024 | 166,776 |
| 2025 | 168,308 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £315,018 |
| July 2017 | £332,266 |
| July 2018 | £341,079 |
| July 2019 | £339,040 |
| July 2020 | £338,404 |
| July 2021 | £365,494 |
| July 2022 | £407,098 |
| July 2023 | £400,195 |
| July 2024 | £396,846 |
| July 2025 | £394,406 |
| July 2026 | £391,211 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £573.60 a week |
| 2016 | £574.90 a week |
| 2017 | £616.90 a week |
| 2018 | £616.80 a week |
| 2019 | £615.80 a week |
| 2020 | £592.90 a week |
| 2021 | £613.30 a week |
| 2022 | £681.80 a week |
| 2023 | £695.30 a week |
| 2024 | £751.40 a week |
| 2025 | £865.90 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,758.19 |
| 2017-18 | £1,833.59 |
| 2018-19 | £1,934.98 |
| 2019-20 | £2,011.51 |
| 2020-21 | £2,091.34 |
| 2021-22 | £2,162.69 |
| 2022-23 | £2,252.09 |
| 2023-24 | £2,363.03 |
| 2024-25 | £2,484.03 |
| 2025-26 | £2,608.44 |
| 2026-27 | £2,728.43 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 30.7 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 34.8 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 40.5 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 38.2 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 43.5 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 35.9 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 38.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 40.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 40.4 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 40.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 40.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 78.1% |
| 2016/17 | 78.0% |
| 2017/18 | 78.4% |
| 2018/19 | 78.6% |
| 2019/20 | 82.3% |
| 2020/21 | 74.9% |
| 2021/22 | 79.4% |
| 2022/23 | 73.2% |
| 2023/24 | 82.2% |
| 2024/25 | 72.0% |
| 2025/26 | 80.5% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.9 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.7 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.7 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 84.9 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.5 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 85.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 9,205 |
| 2017 | 9,315 |
| 2018 | 9,300 |
| 2019 | 9,300 |
| 2020 | 9,305 |
| 2021 | 9,365 |
| 2022 | 9,415 |
| 2023 | 9,350 |
| 2024 | 9,425 |
| 2025 | 9,520 |
| 2026 | 9,540 |
Questions about Wealden
How much is Band D council tax in Wealden?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,728.43 for 2026-27.
What is the crime rate in Wealden?
40.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average salary in Wealden?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Wealden was £865.90 a week in April 2025 (£43,589 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Wealden?
2,275 in August 2026 (2.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is life expectancy in Wealden?
85.0 years for women and 82.5 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the average house price in Wealden?
£391,211 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-0.8% on a year).
What is the population of Wealden?
168,308 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over Wealden
Every body that makes decisions for Wealden, 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
- Wealden council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Wealden 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
- Bexhill and Battle: Dr Kieran Mullan (Conservative) MP
- East Grinstead and Uckfield: Mims Davies (Conservative) MP
- Lewes: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Sussex Weald: Ms Nusrat Ghani (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: Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South East: Arun · Cherwell · Mid Sussex · Oxford · Slough · West Berkshire
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in 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.