Wyre Forest: local statistics
Wyre Forest is a district council area in the West Midlands, home to an estimated 104,179 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 Wyre Forest, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
4,085 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Wyre Forest in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. There are 39 per 1,000 residents, close to the middle of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands (18th highest).
104,179 people lived in Wyre Forest in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 0.6% on a year earlier. That is 4,127 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 4.1%; the West Midlands grew by 7.8% over the same years. That is 25th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the fastest growth. No earlier year in the series was higher.
Full-time employees living in Wyre Forest earned a median £692.90 a week in April 2025 (£34,661 a year). That is 5.2% below the figure for the West Midlands and 24th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest. For full-time jobs located in Wyre Forest the median is £651.90 a week (−£41.00 on the residents' figure). In 2015 the residents' median was £499.40, so it has risen 39% before inflation.
Average Band D council tax in Wyre Forest is £2,512.47 for 2026-27, 7.9% more than in 2025-26. That makes it 7th of 30 in the West Midlands, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,623.24, so it has risen 55%.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Wyre Forest at £230,984 for July 2026, a fall of 0.6% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 19th highest of 30 in the West Midlands (regional average £250,880). The July peak was £232,315 in 2025, and prices are 44% above July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Wyre Forest (£34,661) gives a ratio of 6.7. That ratio is close to the middle of all 30 council areas in the West Midlands (13th highest ratio).
An estimated 72.6% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Wyre Forest were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 7.8 points either way, against 73.6% across the West Midlands. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 66.5% to 86.1%.
The claimant count for Wyre Forest stood at 2,045 in August 2026, or 3.4% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 5.3% in the West Midlands. A year earlier the rate was 3.1%. The five-year high was 4.5% (August 2021); the low was 2.9% (October 2023).
Life expectancy at birth in Wyre Forest is 83.1 years for women and 78.5 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.1 years for women and -0.8 for men. It is mid-table in the West Midlands, 15th of 30.
The Home Office does not publish recorded crime for Wyre Forest on its own for recent years, so this page gives the figure for the West Mercia police force area: 79,871 offences excluding fraud in the year to March 2026, 888 fewer than the year before.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 100,052 |
| 2016 | 100,557 |
| 2017 | 101,163 |
| 2018 | 101,491 |
| 2019 | 101,592 |
| 2020 | 101,315 |
| 2021 | 101,791 |
| 2022 | 102,243 |
| 2023 | 102,965 |
| 2024 | 103,558 |
| 2025 | 104,179 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £160,877 |
| July 2017 | £169,292 |
| July 2018 | £177,906 |
| July 2019 | £182,727 |
| July 2020 | £184,279 |
| July 2021 | £205,524 |
| July 2022 | £226,196 |
| July 2023 | £229,355 |
| July 2024 | £228,242 |
| July 2025 | £232,315 |
| July 2026 | £230,984 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £499.40 a week |
| 2016 | £495.80 a week |
| 2017 | £474.50 a week |
| 2018 | £486.80 a week |
| 2019 | £553.60 a week |
| 2020 | £559.40 a week |
| 2021 | £582.30 a week |
| 2022 | £611.50 a week |
| 2023 | £593.60 a week |
| 2024 | £674.50 a week |
| 2025 | £692.90 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,623.24 |
| 2017-18 | £1,659.36 |
| 2018-19 | £1,732.40 |
| 2019-20 | £1,811.74 |
| 2020-21 | £1,880.39 |
| 2021-22 | £1,939.20 |
| 2022-23 | £2,011.54 |
| 2023-24 | £2,111.53 |
| 2024-25 | £2,214.57 |
| 2025-26 | £2,327.49 |
| 2026-27 | £2,512.47 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 72.1% |
| 2016/17 | 73.3% |
| 2017/18 | 78.8% |
| 2018/19 | 78.4% |
| 2019/20 | 77.6% |
| 2020/21 | 82.2% |
| 2021/22 | 66.5% |
| 2022/23 | 72.6% |
| 2023/24 | 86.1% |
| 2024/25 | 83.6% |
| 2025/26 | 72.6% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.0 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.7 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.9 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.0 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.4 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.7 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.1 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 3,940 |
| 2017 | 4,020 |
| 2018 | 4,020 |
| 2019 | 4,760 |
| 2020 | 5,020 |
| 2021 | 4,825 |
| 2022 | 5,265 |
| 2023 | 4,690 |
| 2024 | 4,165 |
| 2025 | 4,125 |
| 2026 | 4,085 |
Questions about Wyre Forest
What is the population of Wyre Forest?
The ONS estimates 104,179 people lived in Wyre Forest in mid-2025.
What is the average salary in Wyre Forest?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Wyre Forest was £692.90 a week in April 2025 (£34,661 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How much is Band D council tax in Wyre Forest?
£2,512.47 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 Wyre Forest?
£230,984 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-0.6% on a year).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Wyre Forest?
2,045 in August 2026 (3.4% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is life expectancy in Wyre Forest?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 78.5 years for men and 83.1 for women.
Who has power over Wyre Forest
Every body that makes decisions for Wyre Forest, 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
- Wyre Forest council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Wyre Forest 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
- Wyre Forest: Mark Garnier (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 West Mercia police force area, not just Wyre Forest, because the Home Office tables do not give Wyre Forest 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 West Midlands
- UK figures: UK population · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK average house price
- Other council areas in the West Midlands: Bromsgrove · Cannock Chase · Lichfield · South Staffordshire · Staffordshire Moorlands · Worcester
Related questions
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.