Stevenage Council Tax 2026

How to read this stock pattern

Stevenage's largest property group sits in the lower half of the valuation ladder rather than at the Band D reference used in national tables. Its modal Band C charge is eight-ninths of the Band D rate, and 78.8% of the published stock lies below D. The headline alone does not show how often each band occurs. The stock-weighted amount applies the full distribution for an area-level comparison, while remaining an average rather than a household quotation.

The distribution is unusually concentrated: one band alone contains 56.5% of all published dwellings. That gives the modal-band comparison real descriptive weight and makes the gap between its charge and Band D easier to interpret. It also means the statutory charge shown for that band applies to the largest share of the local stock before discounts or exemptions. The table remains necessary because the other 7 bands describe the minority of properties that the headline cannot represent.

Stevenage occupies the middle half of the East of England stock-weighted distribution, below its £2,255.65 median. The regional result gives more context than a UK-wide rank without turning the difference into a superlative. It also shows that the council's band mix, not only its published Band D rate, determines where it sits among nearby authorities. The remaining distance from the median is an area-level comparison rather than a household saving or premium.

Closest housing-stock shape: Harlow

Harlow is the nearest available full-distribution peer for Stevenage, although the match is not tight. Aligning the two published profiles would require 9.1% of dwellings to move between valuation bands. Even the closest council therefore has a materially different housing-stock shape.

Four largest band differences

• The largest separation is lower on the ladder at Band C: Stevenage has 56.5% of dwellings there, against 48.4% in Harlow. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
• Another material separation is at reference Band D: its share is 8.9% in Stevenage and 12.9% in Harlow. The familiar benchmark represents a larger slice of the peer's housing stock.
• Another material separation sits at lower Band B, where Harlow holds 20.7% of its stock and Stevenage holds 18.0%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
• Another material separation sits at lower Band A, where Harlow holds 6.5% of its stock and Stevenage holds 4.4%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.

How the wider profile compares

Show every band direction

• Band A leans toward Harlow
• Band B leans toward Harlow
• Band C leans toward Stevenage
• Band D leans toward Harlow
• Band E leans toward Stevenage
• Band F is closely balanced
• Band G is closely balanced
• Band H is closely balanced

This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.

Other close England matches for Stevenage: Barking & Dagenham (12.3% redistribution distance); Crawley (12.8% redistribution distance); Slough (16.5% redistribution distance); Reading (16.6% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Harlow stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.