Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Swale Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Swale prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Swale wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
160,671
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£39,572
Swale
Median resident weekly pay
£761
Full-time employees
Employment rate
78.0%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
3.8%
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.
Swale’s latest ONS/Nomis labour market profile and ASHE earnings data show a local economy with solid employment and pay levels that are close to, but slightly below, the Great Britain average. The resident population stood at 160,671 in 2025, giving useful context for the scale of the local labour market.