Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
South West England Employment Rate
Employment, unemployment and population indicators for reading South West England property prices and rents in wider labour-market context.
Employment rate
77.8%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.4%
Economically active
Economic inactivity
18.6%
Aged 16-64
Resident population
5,889,695
ONS 2024
Feb 2026-Apr 2026 / ASHE 2025
South West England labour-market context
Employment data does not predict house prices by itself, but it helps frame affordability and local economic context.
Resident population
5,889,695
ONS 2024
Median resident annual pay
£38,168
South West England
Median resident weekly pay
£734
Full-time employees
Employment rate
77.8%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.4%
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.
South West England had a resident population of 5.9 million in 2024, according to the ONS figures shown by Nomis. That gives the region a large and diverse labour market, with earnings and jobs conditions affecting a wide range of local housing budgets.