Westmorland and Furness: local statistics
Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority in the North West, home to an estimated 231,307 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 Westmorland and Furness, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The claimant count for Westmorland and Furness stood at 2,415 in August 2026, or 1.8% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the North West: 4.2%). The rate was the same a year earlier. The five-year high was 2.8% (August 2021); the low was 1.7% (July 2026).
The median full-time employee living in Westmorland and Furness was paid £811.70 a week before tax in April 2025, or £41,859 over a year. It is 4th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest, and 10.5% more than across the North West. For full-time jobs located in Westmorland and Furness the median is £767.90 a week (−£43.80 on the residents' figure).
A girl born in Westmorland and Furness in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 83.8 years and a boy 79.9 years, on the ONS's period measure, 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, 0.4 more. It is the 4th highest for women of all 35 council areas in the North West.
231,307 people lived in Westmorland and Furness in mid-2025, according to the ONS, a change of +0.6% in a year. That is 6,784 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 3.0%; the North West grew by 8.2% over the same years. That is the 31st fastest growth of 35 in the North West. No earlier year in the series was higher.
An estimated 80.4% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Westmorland and Furness were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 4.5 points either way, against 73.8% across the North West. Its lowest reading in the series was 75.2% and its highest 83.3%.
The ONS counted 13,355 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Westmorland and Furness in March 2026, 4% fewer than in 2016. There are 58 per 1,000 residents, the 2nd highest in the North West.
Police recorded 15,202 crimes in Westmorland and Furness in the year to March 2026, 65.7 for every 1,000 residents, the 27th highest rate of all 35 council areas in the North West. That compares with 65.4 per 1,000 the year before. In the year to March 2016 it was 45.5 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
A typical home in Westmorland and Furness cost £230,449 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, up 7.7% on a year before. That is 11th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest (regional average £221,445). This July figure is the highest in the series, 34% up on July 2016. The average price is 5.5 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Westmorland and Furness. That ratio is mid-table in the North West, 21st of 35.
Average Band D council tax in Westmorland and Furness is £2,507.99 for 2026-27, up £118.99 on 2025-26. It is close to the middle of all 35 council areas in the North West (15th highest).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 224,523 |
| 2016 | 224,754 |
| 2017 | 225,235 |
| 2018 | 225,685 |
| 2019 | 226,162 |
| 2020 | 225,995 |
| 2021 | 226,941 |
| 2022 | 227,590 |
| 2023 | 228,504 |
| 2024 | 229,821 |
| 2025 | 231,307 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £171,757 |
| July 2017 | £177,659 |
| July 2018 | £183,366 |
| July 2019 | £187,974 |
| July 2020 | £186,079 |
| July 2021 | £199,920 |
| July 2022 | £221,637 |
| July 2023 | £218,413 |
| July 2024 | £219,238 |
| July 2025 | £213,954 |
| July 2026 | £230,449 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2022 | £604.20 a week |
| 2023 | £695.10 a week |
| 2024 | £733.40 a week |
| 2025 | £811.70 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2023-24 | £2,173.08 |
| 2024-25 | £2,277.47 |
| 2025-26 | £2,389 |
| 2026-27 | £2,507.99 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 45.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 44.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 47.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 61.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 63.6 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 53.0 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 62.9 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 68.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 63.3 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 65.4 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 65.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 76.8% |
| 2016/17 | 79.9% |
| 2017/18 | 83.3% |
| 2018/19 | 80.0% |
| 2019/20 | 78.0% |
| 2020/21 | 75.2% |
| 2021/22 | 75.9% |
| 2022/23 | 76.3% |
| 2023/24 | 78.9% |
| 2024/25 | 78.2% |
| 2025/26 | 80.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.6 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.7 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.7 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.1 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.6 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.1 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.5 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.8 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 13,890 |
| 2017 | 14,025 |
| 2018 | 14,005 |
| 2019 | 13,990 |
| 2020 | 13,970 |
| 2021 | 13,810 |
| 2022 | 13,695 |
| 2023 | 13,515 |
| 2024 | 13,370 |
| 2025 | 13,345 |
| 2026 | 13,355 |
Questions about Westmorland and Furness
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Westmorland and Furness?
The ONS claimant count was 2,415 in August 2026, 1.8% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Westmorland and Furness?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Westmorland and Furness was £811.70 a week in April 2025 (£41,859 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is life expectancy in Westmorland and Furness?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 79.9 years for men and 83.8 for women.
What is the population of Westmorland and Furness?
The ONS estimates 231,307 people lived in Westmorland and Furness in mid-2025.
What is the crime rate in Westmorland and Furness?
Home Office figures show 15,202 offences in the year to March 2026, or 65.7 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average house price in Westmorland and Furness?
£230,449 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+7.7% on a year).
How much is Band D council tax in Westmorland and Furness?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,507.99 for 2026-27.
Who has power over Westmorland and Furness
Every body that makes decisions for Westmorland and Furness, 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
- Westmorland and Furness council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Westmorland and Furness 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
- Barrow and Furness: Michelle Scrogham (Labour) MP
- Morecambe and Lunesdale: Lizzi Collinge (Labour) MP
- Penrith and Solway: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour) MP
- Westmorland and Lonsdale: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat) 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: Sum of the former Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland partnerships, which make up this council area. 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 North West
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · UK average weekly earnings growth · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in the North West: Bury · Oldham · Rochdale · Tameside · Trafford · Warrington
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.