Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
West Suffolk Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading West Suffolk prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
West Suffolk wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
189,407
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£39,270
West Suffolk
Median resident weekly pay
£755
Full-time employees
Employment rate
77.0%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
6.9%
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.
West Suffolk’s latest ONS/Nomis labour market profile, alongside ASHE earnings data, points to a local economy that is broadly employed, with pay close to the Great Britain average. The resident population is 189,407, which gives useful context for a sizeable local labour market rather than a small sample area.