Yorkshire's Economy
Yorkshire may be known for its idyllic countryside, but it is also a key industrial powerhouse. It is England’s biggest county, home to three of the country’s largest cities.
With an approximate population of 5.4 million, Yorkshire is home to more people than each population of New Zealand, Finland, Norway, Scotland, and Ireland. Yorkshire’s popularity is only growing as the North-South divide continues to widen. The most populous region of Yorkshire is West Yorkshire, home to 2.2 million people. This is unsurprising as Leeds, the third largest city in the UK, sits at its centre.
Yorkshire was also the fastest region to recover its economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. It recovered 98.8% of its size from 2019 by the end of 2021. Now, its economy sees an average of £110 billion a year, with its GVA forecast to grow 8.8% by 2025 to its pre-pandemic size. Thanks to the region’s skilled sectors and fantastic transport links, Yorkshire’s economy remains strong and resilient.
5.4m
Yorkshire population£110bn
Yorkshire economy (per year)£227,492
Avg. Yorkshire house price (Zoopla)Skilled Sectors in Yorkshire
Many invest in Yorkshire for its thriving talent pool, from its four major universities to several world-leading research centres. In North Yorkshire alone, over 40,000 businesses reside with GVAs over £19 billion. York is a UNESCO Creative City, has an enterprise zone status, and is ranked the 13th best UK city for talent. Due to this, property prices here are the highest in the county. York’s thriving tourist scene and capital growth are often the main reasons people invest in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire benefits from World Heritage Sites, National Parks, and Areas of Outstanding Beauty – but is also a pioneering, ever-growing centre for agri-tech innovation. Compared to the UK average of 10.8%, Yorkshire sees its Manufacturing sector make up 15.3% of its skilled industries. Alongside its important growth sectors like Tech Innovation, Sustainable Energy and Bioeconomy, and Rail Innovation, such thriving and talented industries will help Yorkshire hit its commitment to becoming carbon-negative by 2040. Yorkshire is the region looking to the future.
Yorkshire is one of the largest centres for students in the country and has a wealth of skilled professionals and knowledgeable sectors, which attracts both UK and global businesses. Many businesses relocate to the North from London, seeing its fantastic capital growth potential. Such business giants like Yorkshire Water, Asda, Channel4, and BT call Yorkshire home and are some of the region’s biggest employers. The likes of Tetley’s Brewery, Morrisons, and M&S were even founded in Yorkshire and continue to thrive there.
Well-Connected
At the heart of the UK, Yorkshire connects to the rest of the country (and world) by road, rail, air, and sea. Due to the region’s fantastic connectivity, people invest in Yorkshire for links to thriving business sectors across the Northern Powerhouse, like Leeds and York.
Yorkshire is in the centre of the UK, as well as its biggest county. This makes it perfectly and strategically located for all major cities to be within reach. Some of the major road networks in the UK connect Yorkshire to the rest of the country, including the A1, A66, M1, and M62. Yorkshire residents can even reach five international airports and the county’s many ports. With the main East Coast railway, central London and Edinburgh can be reached in less than two hours. Both homeowners and tenants invest in Yorkshire due to the commutable distance.
£134,600
Lowest avg. house price (Hull)£319,300
Highest avg. house price (York)1.2%
House price growth (2022)28.2%
Forecast house price growth by 2025Invest in Yorkshire's Property Market
Yorkshire is recognised as a great place to live and work, home to property prices ranging from £134,600 in Hull to £319,300 in York. This region is known for some of the lowest house prices in the country while still seeing strong growth each year. Last year alone saw a 1.2% house price growth, with a forecast 28.2% increase in value by 2025. This is thanks to the North’s growing desirability, infrastructure improvements, and particularly Hull’s green regeneration, which plays a key role in its economy.
Buy-to-let investors see great potential for capital appreciation in Yorkshire for its high rental yields. Compared to the UK average yield of 3.63%, Yorkshire offers its lowest rental yield around 4% alongside some locations offering up to 10.5%. Even with the UK’s current mortgage rates, returns from investing in Yorkshire remain highly profitable.
Despite having some of the country’s fastest-growing rents, tenants still choose Yorkshire for its affordability. On average, a tenant spends 28.6% of their income on rent in Yorkshire compared to London (53.6%). For this reason, Yorkshire is not short of rental demand. In the space of ten years (2011-2021), those who privately rent in the East Riding of Yorkshire have jumped from 13.7% to 16.9%. As for those who own their home, either outright or through a mortgage, saw a drop from 75.3% to 73.1% in the same timeframe.
Overall, there has been a 3.7% increase in people privately renting in Yorkshire from 2011 to 2021. 19.6% of Yorkshire’s population privately rents. This figure alongside excellent yields, high demand, and increasing prices within the market are reasons alone to invest in Yorkshire. With the skilled sectors, central location, and strong and growing economy, too –investors only benefit from investing in Yorkshire property.
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