Priority 1: Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region
Develop and build on the strength of our city’s economy to deliver inclusive growth, supporting businesses to innovate, grow and scale up. Capitalising on the green technological revolution to create more local jobs.
Themes
- a growing and prosperous economy
- a vibrant and attractive city centre
- increased skills, training & pathways into employment
- reducing poverty and improving household financial security
- supporting housing growth to meet local needs
Executive Summary
Coventry's economy continues to show resilience. Business closures fell significantly – from 1,885 to 1,370 – and the 1-year business survival rate improved to 89.3%, reflecting a stronger, more confident local business environment.
Our visitor economy reached £923 million in 2024, a third consecutive record year for tourism, and Coventry city centre received its first Purple Flag award, recognising it as a safe and vibrant destination.
Investment income exceeded its target, and planning permission is in place for nearly 12,000 new homes over the next decade, supporting continued housing growth.
Unemployment remains higher than national and regional averages, and GDP per head growth has lagged behind the national picture – challenges shaped significantly by macroeconomic conditions beyond any single council's control. Our response is targeted and deliberate while adapting to much reduced and limited funding opportunities.
A new regional High Growth Service, a Local Enterprise Support Service, and continued investment in the Job Shop, which supported over 9,000 registered customers and delivered 60,000 engagements this year.
Overall, Coventry's economic foundations are sound. Our focus now is ensuring the benefits of growth are felt by every resident across every neighbourhood.
Background by thematic group
A growing and prosperous economy
The UK economy grew modestly in 2025 (around 1.4%), with employment stable at about 75%, though unemployment has edged up. Local business output reached around £12.9 billion in 2023, and job numbers have increased, but after accounting for inflation, real growth was flat, similar to the national picture. Coventry’s economy performs well overall, but the benefits are uneven.
Jobs based in the city tend to be relatively well paid, yet resident wages are lower on average, as many higher-paid roles are filled by commuters. Wages have risen only slightly above inflation, so gains in real terms have been limited. Inflation has fallen from 11.1% in 2022 to around 2.8% by April 2026, but remains above the Bank of England’s target, meaning the cost of living is still a challenge, particularly for lower-paid households.
While Coventry’s productivity is above regional averages, household incomes lag behind, showing that business success does not yet translate into shared prosperity for all residents.
A vibrant and attractive city centre
In late 2025, Coventry city centre received its first Purple Flag award, recognising it as a safe, diverse and enjoyable place for the night-time economy. This reflects partnership working between the Council, The Business Improvement District (BID), businesses and the police. The city centre population has grown rapidly, increasing by around 40% between 2011 and 2021, compared with 9% city-wide.
Growth is expected to continue through the City Centre South redevelopment. This will deliver nearly 1,000 new homes (within around 1,800 planned over the next decade) and about 8,000 square metres of new retail, leisure and hospitality space. While student numbers at Coventry University have fallen since 2020, which may reduce student presence in the short term, overall the city centre is becoming more residential and active. In 2024, around 19,500 people worked in city-centre businesses, slightly fewer than in 2019.
Despite this, the area’s economic output rose to about £1.3 billion in 2023, up 19% since 2019, in line with growth across the city. Public views are mixed: a 2024 to 2025 survey found 24% of visitors rated the city centre as good or very good, while 39% rated it poor or very poor. Tourism continues to strengthen, with Coventry’s visitor economy worth around £923 million in 2024, showing sustained growth.
Increased skills, training and pathways into employment
Unemployment in Coventry remains higher than the national average, especially among young people. In June 2026, 14,025 working-age residents (5.8%) were claiming unemployment-related benefits, compared with 4.0% in England. This includes people who are unemployed and some in low-paid or part-time work. The figure is well above pre-pandemic levels (around 7,900 in 2019).
Youth unemployment is a particular concern, with claims among 18 to 24 year-olds, on an increasing trend, rising to 2,840 in June 2026. Census data showed 1-in-8 young adults not in education were unemployed in 2021, and this is likely to have worsened. Skills levels are improving overall. By 2025, 45% of working-age residents had higher-level qualifications, similar to the national average. However, 11% had no qualifications, almost double the England rate.
Economic inactivity is also relatively high (22.4% in 2025), partly due to Coventry’s large student population, as well as health and caring responsibilities. Reflecting these challenges, Coventry is among the most deprived 20% of local authorities for employment, with around 15% of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 10% nationally. While progress is being made, continued focus on skills, training and routes into good-quality work remains essential.
Reducing poverty and improving household financial security
The Indices of Deprivation 2025 underline that Coventry is home to deprived communities and persistent deprivation. Coventry has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England, particularly in the north, north-eastern and central parts of the city, but also in other pockets. Thirty-one percent of Coventry’s local neighbourhoods (LSOAs), 63 out of 203, are among the most deprived 20% in England (36 LSOAs, 18% of all, amongst most deprived 10%), while only 12% are in the least deprived 20%.
Coventry ranks 48th most deprived out of 296 English local authority areas in terms of proportion of LSOAs amongst the most deprived 10% in England and 57th in terms of the average deprivation score of all LSOAs.
Despite wage growth, cost-of-living pressures remain significant, especially for lower-paid workers. The Living Wage Foundation and the Resolution Foundation have recently updated the estimate of the real living wage, at £13.45 per hour for 2025 to 2026, and it is estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1-in-6 Coventry workers earn below this level.
Financial stress remains a concern - in the 2024 to 2025 Coventry Household Survey residents were asked how often they have been worried about money during the last few weeks. Thirteen percent of residents reported worrying about money almost all the time and 23% worried quite often.
Supporting housing growth to meet local needs
Coventry’s housing stock is relatively old overall, with 63% built before 1965 compared to 51% nationally, this has implications for energy efficiency and fuel poverty and highlights the need to invest in new homes.
Coventry has more terraced houses than average, making up 40% of all houses compared to 23% nationally and has a relatively large private rented sector. Seventy percent are in the lower Council Tax bands A & B, this limits the amount of Council Tax that can be collected.
The number of houses in Coventry has been growing annually as the city’s population has been increasing and Coventry City Council’s Local Plan 2011 to 2031, adopted in 2017, identified a need to increase house building in Coventry – identifying a need for an average of 1,300 new homes to be built a year and since then housing building has been at about this level.
Performance summary
We monitor our performance for this priority through a set of 17 performance indicators, recording their progress since last year and whether they have met their target:
- Progress: out of the 17 performance indicators, there are 5 for which we cannot currently report progress compared to the position last year. Out of the remaining 12 indicators, 33% (4) either improved or stayed the same
- Status: out of the 12 indicators for which we can report status against target, 50% (6) are ‘On-Target’