Reading
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
Reading supports 120,500 workplace jobs with median earnings 7% above the England average. The claimant rate (4.5%) 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 Reading's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Information & communication (LQ 3.71) and Electricity, gas & air conditioning (LQ 3.44). Wholesale & retail trade shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Administrative & support services underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for Reading, 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 £35,454 are 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 174,224 with 70.2% of working age. The dependency ratio is 42.5%.
Source: Census 2021, ONS·Last updated 2021
Commuting & Travel to Work
Census 2021 method of travel to work for Reading residents.
39.3% of residents work from home. The most common commute method is driving a car or van (31.4%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Active enterprises in Reading from the UK Business Counts dataset.
6,660 active enterprises operate in this area. The business base has grown by 1.7% over three years. 77.6% 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 Reading vs England, 2015-2025.
The median house price of £295,271 is in line with 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. Reading is ranked 141 out of 317 local authorities (1 = most deprived).
Ranked 141st of 317 local authorities on the IMD (1 = most deprived). The most challenging domain is Barriers to Housing & Services (ranked 34th), while Employment ranks comparatively better (200th).
Source: MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation, 2019·Last updated 2019
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in Reading using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026