Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Blackburn with Darwen Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Blackburn with Darwen prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Blackburn with Darwen wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
163,801
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£33,779
Blackburn with Darwen
Median resident weekly pay
£650
Full-time employees
Employment rate
65.4%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.1%
Economically active
Average monthly rent compared with estimated monthly earnings.
Labour market rates are from the ONS Annual Population Survey profile shown by Nomis. Where the local APS unemployment value is suppressed, the ONS model-based unemployment estimate is used. Earnings are ONS ASHE resident-analysis median full-time employee earnings. Annual pay is annualised from weekly pay for display context.
Incomes Explain Affordability Pressure
Wage and employment data does not predict house prices by itself. It gives demand-side context: how average prices and rents compare with resident earnings, whether employment conditions support demand, and where affordability pressure may limit the buyer or renter pool.
Blackburn with Darwen had a resident population of 163,801 in 2025, according to the ONS figures shown by Nomis. That gives useful context for the local labour market, because the area has a sizeable resident base for a unitary authority, but one that is still much smaller than Great Britain as a whole.