Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Test Valley Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Test Valley prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Test Valley wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
135,698
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£41,356
Test Valley
Median resident weekly pay
£795
Full-time employees
Employment rate
76.9%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
2.7%
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.
Test Valley’s labour market picture is broadly stronger than the Great Britain average, and that matters for affordability context. The area had a resident population of 135,698 in 2025, so this is a sizeable local market with a meaningful working-age base supporting demand for homes.