Wolverhampton: local statistics
Wolverhampton is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, home to an estimated 281,434 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 Wolverhampton, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A girl born in Wolverhampton in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 81.2 years and a boy 77.1 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.5 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.4 less. It is the 2nd lowest for women in the West Midlands.
In August 2026, 11,840 people in Wolverhampton were on the claimant count, 6.7% of residents aged 16 to 64 (the West Midlands: 5.3%). A year earlier the rate was 6.8%. Over the last five years it peaked at 9.1% in August 2021 and was lowest at 6.5% in January 2026.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Wolverhampton is £2,538.99, up £125.01 on 2025-26. That makes it the 3rd highest in the West Midlands. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,591.87, so it has risen 59%.
A typical home in Wolverhampton cost £220,559 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 7.2% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it 26th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest (regional average £250,880). This July figure is the highest in the series, 66% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Wolverhampton (£35,858) gives a ratio of 6.2. That ratio is the 24th highest ratio of 30 in the West Midlands.
In the year to March 2026, 25,869 offences were recorded by police in Wolverhampton: 91.9 per 1,000 people, 5th of 22 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest rate. That compares with 99.7 per 1,000 the year before. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 67.9 to 128.0 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 69.8% of Wolverhampton residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 5.0 points); the figure for the West Midlands was 73.6%. Its lowest reading in the series was 64.4% and its highest 72.5%.
The median full-time employee living in Wolverhampton was paid £711.00 a week before tax in April 2025 (£35,858 a year). That is 2.7% below the figure for the West Midlands and 21st of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest. For full-time jobs located in Wolverhampton the median is £717.10 a week (+£6.10 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £434.20: a change of +64% before inflation.
9,735 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Wolverhampton in March 2026, 16% more than in 2016. That is 35 for every 1,000 residents, the 25th highest of 30 in the West Midlands.
The ONS estimates that 281,434 people lived in Wolverhampton in mid-2025, a change of +0.3% in a year. That is 25,307 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 9.9% (the West Midlands: +7.8%). That is 11th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the fastest growth. No earlier year in the series was higher.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 256,127 |
| 2016 | 258,305 |
| 2017 | 260,648 |
| 2018 | 262,474 |
| 2019 | 263,519 |
| 2020 | 263,123 |
| 2021 | 264,260 |
| 2022 | 268,886 |
| 2023 | 275,074 |
| 2024 | 280,541 |
| 2025 | 281,434 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £132,559 |
| July 2017 | £135,667 |
| July 2018 | £145,049 |
| July 2019 | £147,082 |
| July 2020 | £152,817 |
| July 2021 | £169,123 |
| July 2022 | £188,596 |
| July 2023 | £195,549 |
| July 2024 | £202,220 |
| July 2025 | £205,719 |
| July 2026 | £220,559 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £434.20 a week |
| 2016 | £442.30 a week |
| 2017 | £445.80 a week |
| 2018 | £488.00 a week |
| 2019 | £499.70 a week |
| 2020 | £499.40 a week |
| 2021 | £562.10 a week |
| 2022 | £571.30 a week |
| 2023 | £636.10 a week |
| 2024 | £663.10 a week |
| 2025 | £711.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,591.87 |
| 2017-18 | £1,654.81 |
| 2018-19 | £1,727.60 |
| 2019-20 | £1,830.21 |
| 2020-21 | £1,905.94 |
| 2021-22 | £2,006.08 |
| 2022-23 | £2,073.85 |
| 2023-24 | £2,184.58 |
| 2024-25 | £2,295.02 |
| 2025-26 | £2,413.98 |
| 2026-27 | £2,538.99 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 67.9 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 73.4 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 82.3 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 96.8 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 94.4 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 105.1 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 128.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 128.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 111.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 99.7 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 91.9 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 64.4% |
| 2016/17 | 65.4% |
| 2017/18 | 65.1% |
| 2018/19 | 66.8% |
| 2019/20 | 68.1% |
| 2020/21 | 72.5% |
| 2021/22 | 72.3% |
| 2022/23 | 65.2% |
| 2023/24 | 65.7% |
| 2024/25 | 68.6% |
| 2025/26 | 69.8% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.4 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.9 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 80.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 80.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,385 |
| 2017 | 9,160 |
| 2018 | 9,090 |
| 2019 | 8,945 |
| 2020 | 9,015 |
| 2021 | 9,315 |
| 2022 | 10,540 |
| 2023 | 10,395 |
| 2024 | 9,715 |
| 2025 | 9,630 |
| 2026 | 9,735 |
Questions about Wolverhampton
What is life expectancy in Wolverhampton?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 77.1 years for men and 81.2 for women.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Wolverhampton?
The ONS claimant count was 11,840 in August 2026, 6.7% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Wolverhampton?
£2,538.99 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 Wolverhampton?
£220,559 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+7.2% on a year).
What is the crime rate in Wolverhampton?
Home Office figures show 25,869 offences in the year to March 2026, or 91.9 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the average salary in Wolverhampton?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Wolverhampton was £711.00 a week in April 2025 (£35,858 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the population of Wolverhampton?
281,434 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
Who has power over Wolverhampton
Every body that makes decisions for Wolverhampton, 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
- Wolverhampton council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Wolverhampton 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
- Wolverhampton North East: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour) MP
- Wolverhampton South East: Pat McFadden (Labour) MP
- Wolverhampton West: Warinder Juss (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 West Midlands
- UK figures: Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK unemployment rate · UK average house price
- Other council areas in the West Midlands: Dudley · Sandwell · Shropshire · Solihull · Stoke-on-Trent · Walsall
Related questions
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.