Wigan: local statistics
Wigan is a metropolitan borough in the North West, home to an estimated 347,089 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 Wigan, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A Band D home in Wigan pays an average of £2,152.68 in council tax in 2026-27, up £121.40 on 2025-26. It is the lowest of all 35 council areas in the North West. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,432.86, so it has risen 50%.
Homes in Wigan sold for an average of £194,551 in July 2026, up 3.9% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it the 24th highest of all 35 council areas in the North West; the average for the North West was £221,445. Prices are 65% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Wigan (£37,377) gives a ratio of 5.2. That ratio is the 24th highest ratio of all 35 council areas in the North West.
A girl born in Wigan in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.3 years and a boy 77.4 years, on the ONS's period measure (England: 83.3 and 79.5). In 2012 to 2014 the figures were 81.3 and 77.6. It is 24th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest for women.
In March 2026, 10,900 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Wigan, 6% more than in 2016. There are 31 per 1,000 residents, the 3rd lowest in the North West.
Police recorded 31,376 crimes in Wigan in the year to March 2026, 90.4 for every 1,000 residents, 13th of 35 in the North West, counting from the highest rate. The rate was 92.5 in the year to March 2025. In the year to March 2016 it was 68.1 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The claimant count for Wigan stood at 7,795 in August 2026, or 3.6% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the North West was 4.2%. Twelve months before, it was 3.5%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.4% (December 2025) and 5.3% (August 2021).
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 72.1% of Wigan residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.1 points either way; the figure for the North West was 73.8%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 68.6% to 77.6%.
The median full-time employee living in Wigan was paid £726.80 a week before tax in April 2025 (£37,377 a year). It is close to the middle of all 35 council areas in the North West (17th highest), and 1.1% less than across the North West. Jobs based in Wigan paid a median £638.10 a week, £88.70 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £502.40: a change of +45% before inflation.
The ONS estimates that 347,089 people lived in Wigan in mid-2025, up 0.8% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 8.2% (the North West: +8.2%). That is mid-table in the North West, 18th of 35. No earlier year in the series was higher.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 320,864 |
| 2016 | 321,494 |
| 2017 | 322,485 |
| 2018 | 323,904 |
| 2019 | 326,386 |
| 2020 | 327,850 |
| 2021 | 329,796 |
| 2022 | 334,538 |
| 2023 | 339,755 |
| 2024 | 344,245 |
| 2025 | 347,089 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £117,653 |
| July 2017 | £122,461 |
| July 2018 | £125,506 |
| July 2019 | £129,910 |
| July 2020 | £133,913 |
| July 2021 | £152,076 |
| July 2022 | £171,780 |
| July 2023 | £175,078 |
| July 2024 | £176,746 |
| July 2025 | £187,276 |
| July 2026 | £194,551 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £502.40 a week |
| 2016 | £500.00 a week |
| 2017 | £516.00 a week |
| 2018 | £522.90 a week |
| 2019 | £523.10 a week |
| 2020 | £572.70 a week |
| 2021 | £583.60 a week |
| 2022 | £590.80 a week |
| 2023 | £614.30 a week |
| 2024 | £677.10 a week |
| 2025 | £726.80 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,432.86 |
| 2017-18 | £1,475.52 |
| 2018-19 | £1,533.08 |
| 2019-20 | £1,566.08 |
| 2020-21 | £1,615.94 |
| 2021-22 | £1,678.45 |
| 2022-23 | £1,741.39 |
| 2023-24 | £1,831.73 |
| 2024-25 | £1,923.63 |
| 2025-26 | £2,031.28 |
| 2026-27 | £2,152.68 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 68.1 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 79.6 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 92.1 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 90.6 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 77.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 88.8 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 112.2 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 110.7 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 103.3 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 92.5 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 90.4 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 76.9% |
| 2016/17 | 75.4% |
| 2017/18 | 76.4% |
| 2018/19 | 74.8% |
| 2019/20 | 76.6% |
| 2020/21 | 77.5% |
| 2021/22 | 77.6% |
| 2022/23 | 75.1% |
| 2023/24 | 68.6% |
| 2024/25 | 73.0% |
| 2025/26 | 72.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.2 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.3 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 80.9 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.2 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.2 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 80.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.3 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 10,285 |
| 2017 | 10,565 |
| 2018 | 10,400 |
| 2019 | 10,465 |
| 2020 | 10,615 |
| 2021 | 10,910 |
| 2022 | 10,980 |
| 2023 | 10,980 |
| 2024 | 10,950 |
| 2025 | 10,775 |
| 2026 | 10,900 |
Questions about Wigan
How much is Band D council tax in Wigan?
£2,152.68 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is the average house price in Wigan?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £194,551.
What is life expectancy in Wigan?
81.3 years for women and 77.4 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Wigan?
90.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Wigan?
The ONS claimant count was 7,795 in August 2026, 3.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Wigan?
£726.80 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of Wigan?
347,089 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over Wigan
Every body that makes decisions for Wigan, 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
- Wigan council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Wigan 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
- Leigh and Atherton: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Makerfield: Andy Burnham (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Wigan: Lisa Nandy (Labour) MP
- Worsley and Eccles: Michael Wheeler (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 North West
- UK figures: UK average house price · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the North West: Bolton · Cheshire West and Chester · Salford · Sefton · Stockport · Wirral
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.