East of England · 2025-26
Business Rates in Stevenage
Businesses in Stevenage paid £55.5m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Stevenage
Share of £9.4m total relief, 2025-26.
Stevenage at a glance
Stevenage granted £9.4m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £2.0m in Small Business Rate Relief and £1.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £3.6m went to charity relief and £2.1m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Stevenage has an estimated 3,435 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Stevenage ranks 151 out of 296 local authorities in England on the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is most deprived and 296 is least deprived.
Following the 2026 revaluation, the total rateable value of industrial property in Stevenage rose by 24.3% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Stevenage?
Stevenage's local authority collected £55.5m in net business rates income during 2025-26, based on the national multiplier applied to each property's rateable value, less any relief granted.
What reliefs are available in Stevenage?
Stevenage granted £9.4m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £2.0m in Small Business Rate Relief, £1.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £3.6m in charity relief, and £2.1m in empty property relief.
How do I know if I'm overpaying?
If your rateable value looks high compared to similar properties nearby, or you're not currently receiving relief you may be entitled to, it's worth checking your assessment. Use our free checker to compare your rateable value and see if you may be eligible for a reduction or backdated refund.
Stevenage compared with the East of England and England
- Average rateable value
- £54,699£22,564 above the East of England average (£32,135)£20,709 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 32.4%2.2 percentage points below its 34.6% share in the East of England
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +16.6%East of England: +18.3%England: +19.6%
Counts and rateable values are from the stock of properties at March 2026, on the 2023 rating list. Changes are from the 2026 revaluation, comparing the 2023 rating list with the 2026 rating list.
Property mix
Stevenage ranks 25th of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £54,699, and 5th of 45 in the East of England. The largest group of Stevenage's rateable properties is office property (26.6%), yet industrial property holds the largest share of value (32.4%).
Retail makes up 23.6% of Stevenage's rateable properties and 22.2% of its rateable value, both above the 20.6% and 18.7% across the East of England. At March 2026, around 40 of Stevenage's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, unchanged at around 40 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Stevenage's +16.6% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the East of England: stronger than in 23 of the 44 other councils and weaker than in 20. The sharpest increase in Stevenage was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 24.3% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +20.2% for industrial property across the East of England. No sector fell in Stevenage: retail property moved least, up 7.7% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +9.8% for retail property across the East of England.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Stevenage came to 13.7% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Stevenage, at 38.2% of total relief, above 29.7% across England.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Stevenage compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in East of England, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the East of England
Other East of England councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Stevenage's £54,699.
- Business rates in Hertsmere£54,139 average rateable value, £560 lower than Stevenage
- Business rates in Three Rivers£56,444 average rateable value, £1,745 higher than Stevenage
- Business rates in South Cambridgeshire£50,659 average rateable value, £4,040 lower than Stevenage
- Business rates in Welwyn Hatfield£61,945 average rateable value, £7,246 higher than Stevenage
- Business rates in Thurrock UA£76,302 average rateable value, £21,603 higher than Stevenage
- Business rates in Cambridge£83,087 average rateable value, £28,388 higher than Stevenage
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Stevenage
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