Brighton and Hove: local statistics
Brighton and Hove is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 284,170 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Brighton and Hove, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
In March 2026, 16,150 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses were based in Brighton and Hove, 5% more than in 2016. There are 57 per 1,000 residents, the 11th highest of 64 in the South East.
The claimant count for Brighton and Hove stood at 8,650 in August 2026, or 4.3% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.1% in the South East. That compares with 4.1% a year before. Over the last five years it peaked at 5.6% in August 2021 and was lowest at 3.7% in May 2023.
The police recorded 99.7 crimes per 1,000 residents in Brighton and Hove in the year to March 2026 (28,335 offences in all), the 7th highest rate of all 55 council areas in the South East. That compares with 106.1 per 1,000 the year before. In the year to March 2016 it was 84.8 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Brighton and Hove had an estimated 284,170 residents in mid-2025, down 0.3% on mid-2024. That is 6,819 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 2.5% (the South East: +8.1%). That is the 55th fastest growth of all 64 council areas in the South East. The series peaked at 285,063 in mid-2024.
A Band D home in Brighton and Hove pays an average of £2,580.54 in council tax in 2026-27, 5.0% more than in 2025-26. It is the 15th highest of 64 in the South East. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,628.48.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Brighton and Hove had a life expectancy at birth of 83.6 years; for men it was 79.4, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.2 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.6 more. It is the 46th highest for women of 64 in the South East.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Brighton and Hove was £765.50 in April 2025, or £39,347 over a year. That is 6.1% below the figure for the South East and the 44th highest of all 64 council areas in the South East. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £755.20, £10.30 lower. In 2015 the residents' median was £542.90, so it has risen 41% before inflation.
The average house price in Brighton and Hove was £408,948 in July 2026, a fall of 1.1% in twelve months. It ranks as mid-table in the South East, 27th of 64 (regional average £380,878). Since July 2016 prices have risen 20%; the July high in the series was £434,939 in 2022. The average price is 10.4 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Brighton and Hove. That ratio is the 14th highest ratio of all 64 council areas in the South East.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 76.9% of Brighton and Hove residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 3.8 points either way, against 78.9% across the South East. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.6% and its highest 79.0%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 277,351 |
| 2016 | 279,796 |
| 2017 | 279,500 |
| 2018 | 281,250 |
| 2019 | 279,920 |
| 2020 | 278,496 |
| 2021 | 276,454 |
| 2022 | 278,709 |
| 2023 | 282,366 |
| 2024 | 285,063 |
| 2025 | 284,170 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £340,276 |
| July 2017 | £355,432 |
| July 2018 | £363,998 |
| July 2019 | £358,437 |
| July 2020 | £362,843 |
| July 2021 | £383,639 |
| July 2022 | £434,939 |
| July 2023 | £419,384 |
| July 2024 | £411,839 |
| July 2025 | £413,551 |
| July 2026 | £408,948 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £542.90 a week |
| 2016 | £561.20 a week |
| 2017 | £577.90 a week |
| 2018 | £584.00 a week |
| 2019 | £610.90 a week |
| 2020 | £630.60 a week |
| 2021 | £617.80 a week |
| 2022 | £644.40 a week |
| 2023 | £689.70 a week |
| 2024 | £750.30 a week |
| 2025 | £765.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,628.48 |
| 2017-18 | £1,704.63 |
| 2018-19 | £1,806.78 |
| 2019-20 | £1,879.87 |
| 2020-21 | £1,955.41 |
| 2021-22 | £2,055.10 |
| 2022-23 | £2,119.20 |
| 2023-24 | £2,228.83 |
| 2024-25 | £2,339.02 |
| 2025-26 | £2,456.78 |
| 2026-27 | £2,580.54 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 84.8 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 91.6 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 92.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 94.6 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 103.8 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 88.0 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 98.6 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 101.5 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 102.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 106.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 99.7 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 71.6% |
| 2016/17 | 73.9% |
| 2017/18 | 72.2% |
| 2018/19 | 73.4% |
| 2019/20 | 75.8% |
| 2020/21 | 76.4% |
| 2021/22 | 77.2% |
| 2022/23 | 75.0% |
| 2023/24 | 79.0% |
| 2024/25 | 74.1% |
| 2025/26 | 76.9% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 83.4 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.0 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.2 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.3 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.2 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.1 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.2 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 83.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 15,420 |
| 2017 | 15,900 |
| 2018 | 16,200 |
| 2019 | 17,460 |
| 2020 | 18,220 |
| 2021 | 19,280 |
| 2022 | 17,170 |
| 2023 | 16,605 |
| 2024 | 16,155 |
| 2025 | 15,910 |
| 2026 | 16,150 |
Questions about Brighton and Hove
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Brighton and Hove?
The ONS claimant count was 8,650 in August 2026, 4.3% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Brighton and Hove?
Home Office figures show 28,335 offences in the year to March 2026, or 99.7 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
What is the population of Brighton and Hove?
284,170 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How much is Band D council tax in Brighton and Hove?
£2,580.54 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
What is life expectancy in Brighton and Hove?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 79.4 years for men and 83.6 for women.
What is the average salary in Brighton and Hove?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Brighton and Hove was £765.50 a week in April 2025 (£39,347 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the average house price in Brighton and Hove?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £408,948.
Who has power over Brighton and Hove
Every body that makes decisions for Brighton and Hove, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Brighton and Hove council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Brighton and Hove in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven: Chris Ward (Labour) MP
- Brighton Pavilion: Siân Berry (Green Party) MP
- Hove and Portslade: Peter Kyle (Labour) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the South East
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK population
- Other council areas in the South East: Basingstoke and Deane · Maidstone · Medway · Milton Keynes · Portsmouth · Southampton
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.