South West

City of Bristol: house prices, jobs and local statistics

City of Bristol is a unitary authority in the South West, home to 472,465 people at the 2021 census. 3.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August 2026, against 3.9% across the UK. Median full-time pay for people living here was £39,509 a year in 2025 (UK: £39,039). The biggest employing sector is health & social care, with 15.6% of the 308,095 employee jobs counted in 2024.

House prices are not available for this area at the moment.

Jobs, pay and unemployment in City of Bristol

Claimant rate, August 2026

3.6%

12,755 people aged 16 to 64. UK: 3.9%

Employment rate, Apr 2025-Mar 2026

79.8%

UK: 75.4% · Annual Population Survey

Unemployment rate, Apr 2025-Mar 2026

4.8%

UK: 4.5%

Economically inactive

16.2%

UK: 21.0%

Median full-time pay, 2025

£39,509 a year

UK: £39,039

Median weekly pay, 2025

£781

UK: £767

The claimant count is people claiming unemployment-related benefits as a share of residents aged 16 to 64; the unemployment rate is the survey measure of people out of work and looking. Pay is for full-time employees who live in the area.

Claimant count, Annual Population Survey and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (resident analysis), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Two years of claimant counts and ten of pay in the jobs explorer

What City of Bristol does for a living

Employee jobs, 2024

308,095

279,650 in 2019

Businesses, 2026

18,295

Largest sectors by share of employee jobs, 2024
Sector	Share of jobs	Great Britain
Health & social care	15.6%	14.1%
Professional & scientific	14.6%	9.2%
Retail, wholesale & motor trade	10.1%	13.6%
Education	8.8%	8.6%
Information & communication	7.5%	4.5%
Admin & support services	7.5%	8.5%

Business Register and Employment Survey 2024 (Great Britain only). UK Business Counts 2026. Both via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Every sector and business size in the industries explorer

How City of Bristol has changed

Residents
392,174 in 1991 → 494,399 in 2024 (+26.1%)
England over the same years: +22.4%
Average house price
£156,801 in 2005 → £352,262 in 2026 (+124.7%)
England over the same years: +85.9%
Median weekly pay
£396 in 2008 → £671 in 2025 (+69.6%)
England over the same years: +63.7%
Employment rate
73.4% in 2004 → 76.1% in 2023 (+3.7%)
England over the same years: +4.4%
Claimant count
2.6% in 2001 → 3.6% in 2025 (+38.5%)
England over the same years: +60.0%
Disposable income per head
£10,442 in 1997 → £25,336 in 2024 (+142.6%)
England over the same years: +143.8%

ONS Explore local statistics, each series from its official producer; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Money figures are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Every series, charted, in the trends explorer

Who lives in City of Bristol

Residents, 2021

472,465

People per km², 2021

4,308

England and Wales: 395

Aged 65 and over

12.9%

England and Wales: 18.4%

Aged under 15

16.6%

England and Wales: 17.3%

Homes owned

54.0%

England and Wales: 61.5%

Homes rented privately

26.2%

England and Wales: 20.3%

Homes socially rented

18.7%

England and Wales: 17.1%

Degree or higher (16+)

42.1%

England and Wales: 33.8%

No qualifications (16+)

14.5%

England and Wales: 18.2%

Good or very good health

83.5%

England and Wales: 82.0%

Born in the UK

81.2%

England and Wales: 83.2%

Census 2021 topic summaries (TS001, TS006, TS007A, TS054, TS067, TS037, TS004), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

Any neighbourhood's census profile in the census explorer

How City of Bristol ranks among UK councils

40 official indicators are published for City of Bristol; 33 of them have a better and a worse direction and are ranked here. A rank of 1st is the best (lowest unemployment, highest pay, and so on).

Where it ranks best

4G coverage · Connectivity & access100.0% (January 2026) · 13th highest of 361
Library within a 30-minute walk · Connectivity & access97% (May 2024) · 24th highest of 318
High-growth businesses · Economy & work6.3% (2024) · 36th highest of 361
Home gas use · Environment8,543 kWh (2024/25) · 36th lowest of 347

Where it ranks worst

Persistent school absence · Education & skills22.2% (2024/25) · 127th lowest of 132
Smokers · Health & wellbeing14.0% (2020 to 2024) · 309th lowest of 373
Life satisfaction · Health & wellbeing7.3 out of 10 (2022/23) · 282nd highest of 363
Public EV chargers · Connectivity & access98.7 per 100,000 (mid-2026) · 273rd highest of 361

ONS Explore local statistics, latest figure for each indicator, ranked among council areas with a published figure; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, each indicator’s producer named on its linked ONS page.

All 40 indicators in the area scorecard

Health in City of Bristol

Life expectancy (male) (2025)79.1 years · England 80.0 · 89th highest of 151
Life expectancy (female) (2025)83.4 years · England 83.8 · 81st highest of 151
Healthy life expectancy (male) (2022 - 24)60.1 years · England 60.9 · 79th highest of 151
Healthy life expectancy (female) (2022 - 24)60.1 years · England 61.3 · 80th highest of 151
Under-75 mortality, all causes (2025)355.5 per 100k · England 321.0 · 90th lowest of 151
Adult smoking prevalence (2024)12.6% · England 10.4 · 114th lowest of 148
Adults overweight or obese (2024/25)59.4% · England 64.6 · 33rd lowest of 153

OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-02. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.

The full health profile in the health explorer

Schools and children in City of Bristol

School readiness (good development at Reception) (2024/25)68.7% · England 68.3 · 68th highest of 153
GCSE Attainment 8 score (2024/25)45.9 score · England 46.0 · 71st highest of 153
16–17 year-olds NEET or activity not known (2025/26)6.4% · England 5.8 · 113th lowest of 150
Children in absolute low-income families (2024/25)19.7% · England 19.8 · 87th lowest of 153

OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, carrying DfE / ONS education measures. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-04. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.

Nearby schools and more in the education explorer

About these figures

City of Bristol (E06000023) is a unitary authority in the South West, one of 361 council areas this site covers. Every figure on this page is read from the official source named beneath it and carries its own date; the page is rebuilt at most once a day. Survey figures carry sampling error, so small differences between neighbouring councils are often noise. For a single street or neighbourhood rather than the whole council area, search a postcode on the dashboard.

Sources

HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (landregistry.data.gov.uk). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, OGL v3.0.
Office for National Statistics via Nomis (nomisweb.co.uk): claimant count, Annual Population Survey, ASHE, BRES, UK Business Counts and Census 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics, OGL v3.0.
ONS Explore local statistics (ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics), OGL v3.0.
Council area names and codes: mySociety, UK local authority names and codes (CC BY 4.0), from the ONS Register of Geographic Codes.