Winchester: local statistics
Winchester is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 136,856 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 Winchester, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In 2022 to 2024, women in Winchester had a life expectancy at birth of 86.3 years; for men it was 82.4, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 1.2 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.6 more. It is the highest for women of the 64 council areas in the South East.
Winchester had an estimated 136,856 residents in mid-2025, up 1.0% on mid-2024. That is 15,416 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 12.7%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years. That is the 9th fastest growth of the 64 council areas in the South East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
A typical home in Winchester cost £463,025 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, up 2.1% on July 2025. That is the 16th highest of 64 in the South East; the average for the South East was £380,878. The July peak was £482,642 in 2022, and prices are 18% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Winchester (£45,766) gives a ratio of 10.1. That ratio is 18th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest ratio.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Winchester is £2,359.76, up £108.54 on 2025-26. That makes it the 52nd highest of 64 in the South East. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,504.81.
The claimant count for Winchester stood at 1,700 in August 2026, or 2.1% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the South East was 3.1%. A year earlier the rate was 2.0%. The five-year high was 2.6% (August 2021); the low was 1.8% (February 2023).
In March 2026, 9,175 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Winchester, 12% more than in 2016. There are 67 per 1,000 residents, the highest in the South East.
Full-time employees living in Winchester earned a median £855.50 a week in April 2025 (£45,766 a year). That is 4.9% above the figure for the South East and 22nd of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. For full-time jobs located in Winchester the median is £795.30 a week (−£60.20 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £639.30: a change of +34% before inflation.
In the year to March 2026, 7,570 offences were recorded by police in Winchester: 55.3 per 1,000 people, mid-table in the South East, 32nd of 55. A year earlier it was 54.3. In the year to March 2016 it was 53.0 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 79.3% of Winchester residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 6.8 points either way; the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 72.5% to 85.0%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 121,440 |
| 2016 | 122,844 |
| 2017 | 123,771 |
| 2018 | 123,877 |
| 2019 | 124,407 |
| 2020 | 125,754 |
| 2021 | 127,921 |
| 2022 | 130,537 |
| 2023 | 133,284 |
| 2024 | 135,444 |
| 2025 | 136,856 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £392,174 |
| July 2017 | £432,778 |
| July 2018 | £428,198 |
| July 2019 | £416,979 |
| July 2020 | £417,623 |
| July 2021 | £440,418 |
| July 2022 | £482,642 |
| July 2023 | £477,940 |
| July 2024 | £467,370 |
| July 2025 | £453,506 |
| July 2026 | £463,025 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £639.30 a week |
| 2016 | £665.90 a week |
| 2017 | £682.50 a week |
| 2018 | £723.30 a week |
| 2019 | £690.70 a week |
| 2020 | £688.60 a week |
| 2021 | £695.60 a week |
| 2022 | £741.40 a week |
| 2023 | £791.70 a week |
| 2024 | £847.50 a week |
| 2025 | £855.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,504.81 |
| 2017-18 | £1,572.64 |
| 2018-19 | £1,664.53 |
| 2019-20 | £1,729.97 |
| 2020-21 | £1,797.76 |
| 2021-22 | £1,884.43 |
| 2022-23 | £1,948.70 |
| 2023-24 | £2,046.84 |
| 2024-25 | £2,142.63 |
| 2025-26 | £2,251.22 |
| 2026-27 | £2,359.76 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 53.0 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 54.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 57.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 60.8 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 67.6 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 49.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 64.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 69.4 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 55.9 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 54.3 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 55.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 85.0% |
| 2016/17 | 75.9% |
| 2017/18 | 83.3% |
| 2018/19 | 78.5% |
| 2019/20 | 72.5% |
| 2020/21 | 76.3% |
| 2021/22 | 82.5% |
| 2022/23 | 74.3% |
| 2023/24 | 80.5% |
| 2024/25 | 83.6% |
| 2025/26 | 79.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 85.1 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.9 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 85.0 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 85.8 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 85.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 86.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 86.3 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,195 |
| 2017 | 8,370 |
| 2018 | 8,555 |
| 2019 | 8,805 |
| 2020 | 8,860 |
| 2021 | 8,920 |
| 2022 | 8,915 |
| 2023 | 9,045 |
| 2024 | 8,935 |
| 2025 | 9,005 |
| 2026 | 9,175 |
Questions about Winchester
What is life expectancy in Winchester?
86.3 years for women and 82.4 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the population of Winchester?
136,856 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average house price in Winchester?
£463,025 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+2.1% on a year).
How much is Band D council tax in Winchester?
£2,359.76 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Winchester?
The ONS claimant count was 1,700 in August 2026, 2.1% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Winchester?
£855.50 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Winchester?
55.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
Who has power over Winchester
Every body that makes decisions for Winchester, 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
- Winchester council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Winchester 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
- Fareham and Waterlooville: Suella Braverman (Reform UK) MP
- Hamble Valley: Paul Holmes (Conservative) MP
- Winchester: Dr Danny Chambers (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: 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: Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK population · UK average house price
- Other council areas in the South East: Bracknell Forest · Elmbridge · Isle of Wight · Test Valley · Tonbridge and Malling · Waverley
Related questions
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.