Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Exeter Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Exeter prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Exeter wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
137,894
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£35,235
Exeter
Median resident weekly pay
£678
Full-time employees
Employment rate
74.8%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
3.9%
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.
Exeter’s labour market profile for Apr 2025 to Mar 2026, using ONS data via Nomis and ASHE earnings data, shows a city with a sizeable resident workforce and a pay level below the Great Britain average. The resident population is 137,894, giving useful context for the scale of the local market.