West Suffolk: local statistics
West Suffolk is a district council area in the East of England, home to an estimated 189,407 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 Suffolk, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
9,700 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in West Suffolk in March 2026, 15% more than in 2016. That is 51 for every 1,000 residents, 13th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest.
A typical home in West Suffolk cost £294,810 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, up 0.3% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it the 34th highest of 45 in the East of England (regional average £337,518). The July peak was £298,104 in 2022, and prices are 27% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in West Suffolk (£39,628) gives a ratio of 7.4. That ratio is the 38th highest ratio of 45 in the East of England.
2.5% of West Suffolk residents aged 16 to 64 (2,910 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for the East of England was 3.3%. A year earlier the rate was 2.4%. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.2% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.0% in January 2023.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in West Suffolk took home £755.20 a week before tax, or £39,628 over a year. It is 31st of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest, and 6.2% less than across the East of England. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £715.50, £39.70 lower.
A girl born in West Suffolk in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 84.4 years and a boy 81.0 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). In 2012 to 2014 the figures were 84.0 and 81.0. It is the 17th highest for women of 45 in the East of England.
Average Band D council tax in West Suffolk is £2,351.47 for 2026-27, 4.8% more than in 2025-26. It is close to the middle of the 45 council areas in the East of England (27th highest). Ten years earlier, in 2019-20, it was £1,748.89.
189,407 people lived in West Suffolk in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 0.6% on mid-2024. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 7.5%; the East of England grew by 8.5% over the same years, close to the middle of the 45 council areas in the East of England (26th fastest growth). The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
An estimated 77.0% of people aged 16 to 64 living in West Suffolk were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 6.4 points either way; the figure for the East of England was 78.3%. Its lowest reading in the series was 72.7% and its highest 82.3%.
The Home Office does not publish recorded crime for West Suffolk on its own for recent years, so this page gives the figure for the Suffolk police force area: 44,078 offences excluding fraud in the year to March 2026, 431 fewer than the year before.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 176,177 |
| 2016 | 176,416 |
| 2017 | 178,991 |
| 2018 | 179,189 |
| 2019 | 179,703 |
| 2020 | 178,236 |
| 2021 | 180,813 |
| 2022 | 182,319 |
| 2023 | 186,052 |
| 2024 | 188,197 |
| 2025 | 189,407 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £231,646 |
| July 2017 | £245,480 |
| July 2018 | £250,006 |
| July 2019 | £254,372 |
| July 2020 | £257,437 |
| July 2021 | £269,975 |
| July 2022 | £298,104 |
| July 2023 | £293,041 |
| July 2024 | £293,582 |
| July 2025 | £294,063 |
| July 2026 | £294,810 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2022 | £613.30 a week |
| 2023 | £649.20 a week |
| 2024 | £723.70 a week |
| 2025 | £755.20 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2019-20 | £1,748.89 |
| 2020-21 | £1,820.89 |
| 2021-22 | £1,895.72 |
| 2022-23 | £1,956.19 |
| 2023-24 | £2,041.50 |
| 2024-25 | £2,139.61 |
| 2025-26 | £2,243 |
| 2026-27 | £2,351.47 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 81.8% |
| 2016/17 | 80.4% |
| 2017/18 | 82.3% |
| 2018/19 | 79.3% |
| 2019/20 | 80.8% |
| 2020/21 | 79.3% |
| 2021/22 | 77.0% |
| 2022/23 | 72.7% |
| 2023/24 | 79.5% |
| 2024/25 | 78.3% |
| 2025/26 | 77.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.0 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.1 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.1 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.9 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.1 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.3 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.4 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,405 |
| 2017 | 8,570 |
| 2018 | 8,585 |
| 2019 | 8,735 |
| 2020 | 8,730 |
| 2021 | 8,780 |
| 2022 | 8,980 |
| 2023 | 8,945 |
| 2024 | 9,235 |
| 2025 | 9,390 |
| 2026 | 9,700 |
Questions about West Suffolk
What is the average house price in West Suffolk?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £294,810.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in West Suffolk?
2,910 in August 2026 (2.5% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the average salary in West Suffolk?
£755.20 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in West Suffolk?
84.4 years for women and 81.0 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
How much is Band D council tax in West Suffolk?
£2,351.47 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the population of West Suffolk?
The ONS estimates 189,407 people lived in West Suffolk in mid-2025.
Who has power over West Suffolk
Every body that makes decisions for West Suffolk, 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 Suffolk council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- West Suffolk 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
- Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket: Dr Peter Prinsley (Labour) MP
- West Suffolk: Nick Timothy (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 Suffolk police force area, not just West Suffolk, because the Home Office tables do not give West Suffolk on its own. 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 East of England
- UK figures: UK average house price · UK unemployment rate · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in the East of England: Basildon · Bedford · Chelmsford · Huntingdonshire · Southend-on-Sea · Thurrock
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.