Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Colchester Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Colchester prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Colchester wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
201,163
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£39,863
Colchester
Median resident weekly pay
£767
Full-time employees
Employment rate
74.3%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.0%
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.
Colchester’s latest ONS/Nomis labour-market profile shows a resident population of 201,163 in 2025. That gives useful context for the town’s housing market, because it points to a sizeable local workforce and a broad base of households with different income levels and working patterns.