West Berkshire: local statistics
West Berkshire is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 165,523 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 West Berkshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
9,355 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in West Berkshire in March 2026, 7% fewer than in 2016. There are 57 per 1,000 residents, the 13th highest of 64 in the South East.
165,523 people lived in West Berkshire in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 0.4% on mid-2024. That is 6,628 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 4.2%, against +8.1% for the South East as a whole, the 49th fastest growth of all 64 council areas in the South East. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
The median full-time employee living in West Berkshire was paid £860.80 a week before tax in April 2025 (£44,887 a year). It is the 20th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East, and 5.6% more than across the South East. For full-time jobs located in West Berkshire the median is £782.60 a week (−£78.20 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £602.80: a change of +43% before inflation.
In August 2026, 2,425 people in West Berkshire were on the claimant count, 2.4% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the South East: 3.1%). That compares with 2.3% a year before. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.0% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.0% in February 2024.
An estimated 81.5% of people aged 16 to 64 living in West Berkshire were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 4.2 points); the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Its lowest reading in the series was 80.7% and its highest 85.1%.
Police recorded 9,078 crimes in West Berkshire in the year to March 2026, 54.8 for every 1,000 residents, 35th of 55 in the South East, counting from the highest rate. That compares with 57.6 per 1,000 the year before. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 47.1 to 60.3 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in West Berkshire at £403,682 for July 2026, up 0.4% on July 2025. That is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (29th highest) (regional average £380,878). This July figure is the highest in the series, 24% up on July 2016. The average price is 9.0 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in West Berkshire. That ratio is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (38th highest ratio).
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in West Berkshire is £2,505.37, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. It is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (28th highest). Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,603.73.
Life expectancy at birth in West Berkshire is 84.7 years for women and 81.7 years for men (2022 to 2024) (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.5 years for women and +0.8 for men. It is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (32nd highest for women).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 158,895 |
| 2016 | 160,551 |
| 2017 | 160,729 |
| 2018 | 160,953 |
| 2019 | 160,883 |
| 2020 | 161,026 |
| 2021 | 161,864 |
| 2022 | 162,376 |
| 2023 | 164,121 |
| 2024 | 164,918 |
| 2025 | 165,523 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £324,377 |
| July 2017 | £338,420 |
| July 2018 | £342,880 |
| July 2019 | £336,993 |
| July 2020 | £320,572 |
| July 2021 | £345,585 |
| July 2022 | £388,763 |
| July 2023 | £381,894 |
| July 2024 | £385,039 |
| July 2025 | £401,909 |
| July 2026 | £403,682 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £602.80 a week |
| 2016 | £625.90 a week |
| 2017 | £625.60 a week |
| 2018 | £633.30 a week |
| 2019 | £706.00 a week |
| 2020 | £627.50 a week |
| 2021 | £649.20 a week |
| 2022 | £689.70 a week |
| 2023 | £775.90 a week |
| 2024 | £812.60 a week |
| 2025 | £860.80 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,603.73 |
| 2017-18 | £1,675.21 |
| 2018-19 | £1,772.67 |
| 2019-20 | £1,842.99 |
| 2020-21 | £1,916.99 |
| 2021-22 | £1,965.61 |
| 2022-23 | £2,046.37 |
| 2023-24 | £2,152.65 |
| 2024-25 | £2,263.62 |
| 2025-26 | £2,382.84 |
| 2026-27 | £2,505.37 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 47.1 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 49.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 51.5 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 56.1 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 57.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 47.1 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 56.7 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 60.3 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 56.4 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 57.6 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 54.8 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 82.8% |
| 2016/17 | 81.5% |
| 2017/18 | 82.5% |
| 2018/19 | 81.2% |
| 2019/20 | 83.3% |
| 2020/21 | 82.3% |
| 2021/22 | 85.1% |
| 2022/23 | 80.7% |
| 2023/24 | 83.7% |
| 2024/25 | 83.3% |
| 2025/26 | 81.5% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.4 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.2 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 85.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.6 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.7 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 10,035 |
| 2017 | 10,240 |
| 2018 | 10,200 |
| 2019 | 10,145 |
| 2020 | 10,070 |
| 2021 | 9,830 |
| 2022 | 9,615 |
| 2023 | 9,380 |
| 2024 | 9,300 |
| 2025 | 9,340 |
| 2026 | 9,355 |
Questions about West Berkshire
What is the population of West Berkshire?
The ONS estimates 165,523 people lived in West Berkshire in mid-2025.
What is the average salary in West Berkshire?
Median pay for full-time employees living in West Berkshire was £860.80 a week in April 2025 (£44,887 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in West Berkshire?
2,425 in August 2026 (2.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the crime rate in West Berkshire?
Home Office figures show 9,078 offences in the year to March 2026, or 54.8 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average house price in West Berkshire?
£403,682 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+0.4% on a year).
How much is Band D council tax in West Berkshire?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,505.37 for 2026-27.
What is life expectancy in West Berkshire?
84.7 years for women and 81.7 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over West Berkshire
Every body that makes decisions for West Berkshire, 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
- West Berkshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- West Berkshire 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
- Newbury: Mr Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Reading West and Mid Berkshire: Olivia Bailey (Labour) 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 population · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South East: Canterbury · Mid Sussex · Oxford · Slough · Swale · Wealden
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.