Living in Milton Keynes

In Milton Keynes, tenants pay an average rent of €1,570 a month (2026).

At the end of 2021, Milton Keynes had a population of 197,340. The regional median gross salary reached €3,208 per month at the end of 2024. Milton Keynes had an unemployment rate of 4.93% at the end of 2018.

Last checked 2026-09-2328 sources

Population197,340people31 Dec 2021Official source · Office for National Statistics

Median gross salary (region)3,208EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Average rent1,570EUR/month31 Aug 2026Official source · ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority

Unemployment rate4.93%country median 3.4% — 45% aboveOfficial source · Eurostat

Recorded crime8,776offences per 100,000country median 9,646 — 9% belowOfficial source · Office for National Statistics

PM2.5, annual mean7.21µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · uk-air.defra.gov.uk

Higher unemployment than 83% of United Kingdom cities that publish it and less recorded crime than 70% of United Kingdom cities that publish it.

Which United Kingdom-wide rules apply when you move to Milton Keynes?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in United KingdomNational rates and thresholds that apply in Milton Keynes.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Milton Keynes. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€24

Mobile plan, 10 GB€13

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	24.02 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	BT Full Fibre 150¹Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	12.87 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Three 100GB one-month data pack¹⁷Official · national market
Rent price index, mean	1,570 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), UK: monthly price statistics, 16 September 2026 edition¹⁶Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	1,570 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority¹³Official

Is Milton Keynes a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker26%strong on work, weak on safety · range 17–35%

Skilled employee57%strong on work, weak on safety · range 49–65%

Student36%strong on education, weak on safety · range 29–43%

Family49%strong on family, weak on cost · range 41–57%

Retirement23%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 12–34%

Work and income

The employment rate of 65.2% was recorded at the end of 2021. Milton Keynes's working population was 100,120 at the end of 2021.

What is the unemployment rate in Milton Keynes?

The unemployment rate is about 4.9 % (2018).

Unemployment rate: 4.93 % · Eurostat³

Unemployment across cities in United KingdomUnemployment in Milton Keynes is 4.9%. Of 999 cities with data, 652 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

652

263

0–22–44–66–88–1010–1216–18

Milton Keynes 4.9%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Employment rate	65.2 %	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Median gross salary (regional)	3,208 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Office for National Statistics (ONS)¹⁰Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	4.93 %country median 3.4%	31 Dec 2018	Eurostat³Official

Unemployment rate over time7 published observations, 2004–2018

1.3%

4.2%

7.1%

10.0%

4.9%2004201120162018

Unemployment rate rose 15.5% between 2004 and 2018, from 4.3% to 4.9%.

What does a salary buy in Milton Keynes?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€1,047of €2,654 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile
Left over

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.	€2,654
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority · 2026-08-31	− €1,570
Internet€24 · official · BT Full Fibre 150 · 2026-09-30	− €24
Mobile plan€13 · official · Three 100GB one-month data pack · 2026-09-30	− €13
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	€1,047

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Milton Keynes Salary needed to live in Milton Keynes

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Milton Keynes. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Jobcentre Plus — Public employment service

Department for Work and Pensions

Job SearchUnemployment Claim

Open official service

Open the United Kingdom service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Milton Keynes. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Primary schools	85 count	3 Aug 2026	Department for Education (GIAS)²Official
Schools	120 count	3 Aug 2026	Department for Education (GIAS)²Official

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 5 to 16, and public school is free.

A country-wide rule for United Kingdom; Milton Keynes's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: legislation.gov.uk · 1996–2026.

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
GP practices	48 count	30 Sept 2026	ODS GP Practices report (epraccur)⁵Official
Pharmacies	39 count	30 Sept 2026	ODS Pharmacy/Dispensaries report (edispensary)⁶Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Milton Keynes under the national coverage rules.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

How safe is Milton Keynes?

Police recorded about 8,776 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source.

Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents: 8,776 offences per 100,000 · Office for National Statistics⁹

Recorded crime across major citiesMilton Keynes highlighted among comparable cities

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Manchester14,267

Bristol13,099

Liverpool12,409

Leeds11,462

Birmingham11,416

Leicester11,001

Sheffield9,693

Cardiff9,379

Belfast9,156

Milton Keynes8,776

Glasgow757

Edinburgh549

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	8,776 offences per 100,000country median 9,646	31 Dec 2024	Office for National Statistics⁹Official

Mobility and administration

Milton Keynes's nearest airport was LTN, 32 km away and offered 85 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	85 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹⁴Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	32 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁵Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	LTN	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁵Official

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperature moved from 3.8°C in January to 17.2°C in July.

Is the air quality good in Milton Keynes?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 7.2 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

PM2.5 — annual mean: 7.21 µg/m³ · uk-air.defra.gov.uk¹⁹

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.57.2WHO 5 · EU 25

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in United KingdomAnnual PM2.5 in Milton Keynes is 7.2 µg/m³. Of 941 cities with data, 487 have annual PM2.5 of 6 to under 7 µg/m³.

211

487

200

3–44–55–66–77–88–99–1013–14

Milton Keynes 7.2

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	7.21 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	uk-air.defra.gov.uk¹⁹Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 13.21 · Feb 16.88 · Mar 19.31 · Apr 24.77 · May 26.44 · Jun 29.15 · Jul 34.25 · Aug 32.75 · Sep 29.05 · Oct 27.39 · Nov 18.27 · Dec 14.08 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁴Official · coordinate grid
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan -7.36 · Feb -8.2 · Mar -5.1 · Apr -3.59 · May -0.5 · Jun 3.61 · Jul 6.9 · Aug 5.17 · Sep 2.77 · Oct -3.89 · Nov -5.12 · Dec -6.29 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁴Official · coordinate grid
Average temperature by month	Jan 3.79 · Feb 3.97 · Mar 5.78 · Apr 8.69 · May 11.93 · Jun 15.11 · Jul 17.23 · Aug 16.86 · Sep 14.23 · Oct 10.83 · Nov 6.88 · Dec 4.46 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁴Official · coordinate grid

Population and city profile

Milton Keynes recorded a median age of 36 years at the end of 2021.

How many people live in Milton Keynes?

The published population was 197,340 people in 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics⁸

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Population	197,340 people	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁸Official

International community in Milton Keynes

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Usual residents living in the individual ONS Built-up Area on Census Day 21 March 2021 · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Europe: United Kingdom	138,975	70.4%
Non-EU countries (including British Overseas)	38,845	19.7%
Europe: EU countries	19,515	9.9%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹²

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents with a bachelor's degree or higher	37.4 %	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Workers aged 16 and over	100,120 workers	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Median age	36 years	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Universities	1 count	3 Aug 2026	Office for Students¹¹Official

Alternatives for people set on Milton Keynes

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Luton as a Milton Keynes alternative in the same region

30 km away, better on 1 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Median gross pay, region: €3,681 Luton vs €3,208 Milton Keynes+15%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 8,315 (2026) Luton vs 8,776 (2024) Milton Keynesno percentage
Residents: 233,525 Luton vs 197,340 Milton Keynes+18%
Unemployment: 4.9% Luton vs 4.9% Milton Keynessame level
Annual PM2.5: 7.2 µg/m³ Luton vs 7.2 µg/m³ Milton Keynessame level

Full comparison More about Luton

Southend-on-Sea as a Milton Keynes alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 116 km, better on 2 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.

Unemployment: 2.1% Southend-on-Sea vs 4.9% Milton Keynes−57%
Median gross pay, region: €3,573 Southend-on-Sea vs €3,208 Milton Keynes+11%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 9,646 Southend-on-Sea vs 8,776 Milton Keynes+10%
Residents: 182,305 Southend-on-Sea vs 197,340 Milton Keynes−8%

Full comparison More about Southend-on-Sea

Cities near Milton Keynes

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Alternative cities in United Kingdom

Other cities in United Kingdom to compare with Milton Keynes, nearest in population first.

All United Kingdom cities

Bournemouth196,455 residents Norwich200,770 residents Reading203,795 residents Peterborough190,605 residents Westminster209,365 residents Bolton184,090 residents

How does Milton Keynes compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Milton Keynes's.

Open the full comparison

Put Milton Keynes's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Milton Keynes?

The published population was 197,340 people in 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Is the air quality good in Milton Keynes?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 7.2 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: uk-air.defra.gov.uk.

How safe is Milton Keynes?

Police recorded about 8,776 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Office for National Statistics.

What is the unemployment rate in Milton Keynes?

The unemployment rate is about 4.9 % (2018). Source: Eurostat.

What is the typical salary around Milton Keynes?

The median gross salary is 3,208 EUR/month. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Is Milton Keynes a good place to live?

Milton Keynes may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Which cities are near Milton Keynes?

Bletchley, Water Eaton, Woburn Sands, Leighton Buzzard, Kempston Hardwick are near Milton Keynes. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Europe: United Kingdom live in Milton Keynes?

The official country of birth distribution records 138,975 people (70.4%) in the source-defined population for 2021 Census. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary [ImmigrationDB compilation; version e188635f95c3ae46a6c571679f48c727]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/milton-keynes/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_milton-keynes-united-kingdom-population-rent-salary_8513dcabb78f,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {e188635f95c3ae46a6c571679f48c727},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/milton-keynes/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/milton-keynes/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version e188635f95c3ae46a6c571679f48c727; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

BT Full Fibre 150 bt.com · checked 2026-09-15
Department for Education (GIAS) get-information-schools.service.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
ODS GP Practices report (epraccur) odsdatasearchandexport.nhs.uk · checked 2026-09-15
ODS Pharmacy/Dispensaries report (edispensary) odsdatasearchandexport.nhs.uk · checked 2026-09-15
Office for National Statistics ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-07
Office for National Statistics ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-04
Office for National Statistics ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-04
Office for National Statistics (ONS) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-06

Show 18 more sources

Office for Students officeforstudents.org.uk · checked 2026-08-03
ONS Census 2021 BUA row and ONS/OS BUA 2022 geometry for Abbots Langley and Kings Langley ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-07-06
ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-23
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), UK: monthly price statistics, 16 September 2026 edition ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-18
Three 100GB one-month data pack three.co.uk · checked 2026-09-15
Travel to Work Areas (December 2011) full extent boundaries in the United Kingdom services1.arcgis.com · checked 2026-09-19
uk-air.defra.gov.uk uk-air.defra.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-26
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Wikidata identity and coordinates — Q7973288 Wikidata identity and coordinates · wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-05

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.