Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Ipswich Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Ipswich prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Ipswich wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
139,457
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£35,948
Ipswich
Median resident weekly pay
£691
Full-time employees
Employment rate
76.3%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.6%
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.
Ipswich’s latest ONS and Nomis labour-market profile points to a town with a fairly solid employment base, but with resident pay still below the Great Britain average. The city had a resident population of 139,457 in 2025, which gives the labour market a useful local scale and helps frame affordability pressures in the housing market.