Merton
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
Merton supports 78,050 workplace jobs with median earnings 32% above the England average. The claimant rate (4.6%) is higher than the England average of 4.1%.
Source: ONS, Nomis, HM Land Registry, 2024-2025·Last updated March 2026
Employment & Labour Market
Monthly claimant count rate over the past 3 years.
Source: Claimant Count via Nomis, BRES, 2020-2026·Last updated March 2026
Industry Structure
Location quotients and shift-share analysis for Merton's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Other service activities (LQ 1.63) and Arts, entertainment & recreation (LQ 1.38). Information & communication shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Accommodation & food service underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for Merton, derived from sector employment and national productivity ratios.
Estimates based on national GVA-per-job ratios applied to local sector employment (BRES). Indicative only. See Methodology for details.
Earnings & Income
Gross annual earnings distribution, 2025.
Median annual earnings of £43,507 are significantly above the England median of £33,080.
Source: ASHE via Nomis, 2025·Last updated March 2026
Skills & Qualifications
Census 2021 highest qualification and occupation data.
Source: Census 2021, ONS
Demographics
Census 2021 population by age band.
The population is 215,187 with 68.8% of working age. The dependency ratio is 45.3%.
Source: Census 2021, ONS·Last updated 2021
Commuting & Travel to Work
Census 2021 method of travel to work for Merton residents.
43.2% of residents work from home (well above the national average). The most common commute method is driving a car or van (20.2%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Active enterprises in Merton from the UK Business Counts dataset.
11,035 active enterprises operate in this area. 85.2% of enterprises have fewer than 5 employees.
Source: UK Business Counts via Nomis, 2024·Last updated March 2026
Housing & Property Market
Estimated house prices for Merton vs England, 2015-2025.
The median house price of £362,339 is significantly above the England median of £290,000. The price-to-earnings ratio is 8.3x. Prices have risen 1.8% over the past year.
Source: HM Land Registry, Census 2021, 2015-2025·Last updated March 2026
Place & Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019. Merton is ranked 214 out of 317 local authorities (1 = most deprived).
Ranked 214th of 317 local authorities on the IMD (1 = most deprived). The most challenging domain is Living Environment (ranked 38th), while Education, Skills & Training ranks comparatively better (288th).
Source: MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation, 2019·Last updated 2019
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in Merton using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026