Wokingham – Facts and Figures
Wokingham is a market town in East Berkshire, east of the town of Reading, just south of the M4. Wokingham is governed by both a town council and a borough council so has two mayors. The Borough Council is split between the Liberal Democrats (50%), The Conservatives (35%) and Labour (15%). The local MP is now Liberal Democrat.
The town continues to hold a regular market in the square beside the town hall. There are a wide range of shops in the town centre along with a large selection of pubs and restaurants offering Italian, Indian, Thai, French, and Fusion cuisine.
The town has excellent transport links including a busy train station with regular trains to Reading, Waterloo and Guildford. The London stations of Paddington and Waterloo can both be reached in about an hour. The line through Guildford provides direct access to Gatwick Airport. The M4 just north of the town gives road access to London in the east and South Wales and the West Country in the west. The M3 is a few miles to the south. There are regular bus services via Bracknell and Reading.
The town is a great place to live, which is borne out by the rapid growth in the town and borough.
Demographics
The population of Wokingham Borough is 178,200, an increase of 4,300 over the last year (Wokingham Town has a population of around 50,000). The population has increased by 61,200 since 1981. 20.7% are younger than 16, 62.2% are 16 to 64, and 17.1% are 65 or over.
83.2% of people are in employment. The unemployment rate is 2.3% (national averge 3.8%).
The student population of Wokingham is around 6,000. 93.6% of the people in Wokingham have an NVQ1 qualification. 87.2% have an NVQ2 qualification. 71.1% have an NVQ3 qualification. 57.0% have an NVQ4 qualification. 3.8% of the people in Wokingham have no qualifications (national average 6.6%). The average salary is £35,485 per year (natuonal average £33,384).
Economy
There are 8,605 businesses in Wokingham. 90.6% are micro businesses. 7.3% are small businesses. 1.5% are medium businesses. 0.6% are large businesses. The biggest industry employers in Wokingham are wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles businesses.
Property
The average property price in Wokingham is £490,657. The national average property price is £294,910. The main reason for the rise in population is the significant, ongoing housing developments in the north and east of the town.
Religion
According to the 2021 census, 44.7% of people in Wokingham identify themseves as Christian.
Ethnic Groups
In 2021, 12.9% of usual residents in Wokingham identified their ethnic group within the “Asian” category
Data provided from: