Isle of Wight: local statistics
Isle of Wight is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 140,777 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 Isle of Wight, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Isle of Wight at £245,900 for July 2026, a fall of 0.9% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 61st highest of 64 in the South East; the average for the South East was £380,878. Since July 2016 prices have risen 35%; the July high in the series was £263,542 in 2022. The average price is 7.9 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Isle of Wight. That ratio is 52nd of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest ratio.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Isle of Wight took home £662.10 a week before tax (£31,184 a year). That is 18.8% below the figure for the South East and the lowest of all 64 council areas in the South East. For full-time jobs located in Isle of Wight the median is £614.20 a week (−£47.90 on the residents' figure). In 2015 the residents' median was £480.60, so it has risen 38% before inflation.
In mid-2025 the population of Isle of Wight was estimated at 140,777, down 0.4% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 1.0% (the South East: +8.1%), the 60th fastest growth of all 64 council areas in the South East. The series peaked at 141,764 in mid-2019.
A Band D home in Isle of Wight pays an average of £2,625.79 in council tax in 2026-27, up £132.43 on 2025-26. It is 7th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,615.90.
3.6% of Isle of Wight residents aged 16 to 64 (2,850 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.1% in the South East. The rate was the same a year earlier. Over the last five years it peaked at 4.7% in August 2021 and was lowest at 3.2% in August 2023.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 73.6% of Isle of Wight residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 3.7 points either way; the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Its lowest reading in the series was 65.8% and its highest 74.4%.
Police recorded 10,776 crimes in Isle of Wight in the year to March 2026, 76.5 for every 1,000 residents, the 15th highest rate of all 55 council areas in the South East. That compares with 76.1 per 1,000 the year before. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 64.2 to 80.9 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
Life expectancy at birth in Isle of Wight is 84.0 years for women and 80.5 years for men (2022 to 2024) (England: 83.3 and 79.5). For women that is 0.5 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.7 more. It is close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (38th highest for women).
5,680 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Isle of Wight in March 2026, 2% more than in 2016. There are 40 per 1,000 residents, 50th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 139,316 |
| 2016 | 139,650 |
| 2017 | 141,277 |
| 2018 | 141,665 |
| 2019 | 141,764 |
| 2020 | 140,915 |
| 2021 | 140,885 |
| 2022 | 140,682 |
| 2023 | 141,169 |
| 2024 | 141,356 |
| 2025 | 140,777 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £182,347 |
| July 2017 | £189,639 |
| July 2018 | £195,199 |
| July 2019 | £199,738 |
| July 2020 | £208,812 |
| July 2021 | £230,194 |
| July 2022 | £263,542 |
| July 2023 | £259,251 |
| July 2024 | £249,950 |
| July 2025 | £248,066 |
| July 2026 | £245,900 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £480.60 a week |
| 2016 | £491.60 a week |
| 2017 | £496.80 a week |
| 2018 | £481.20 a week |
| 2019 | £509.20 a week |
| 2020 | £535.60 a week |
| 2021 | £564.10 a week |
| 2022 | £536.30 a week |
| 2023 | £640.40 a week |
| 2024 | £649.60 a week |
| 2025 | £662.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,615.90 |
| 2017-18 | £1,695.45 |
| 2018-19 | £1,806.69 |
| 2019-20 | £1,888.70 |
| 2020-21 | £1,965.40 |
| 2021-22 | £2,072.07 |
| 2022-23 | £2,139.56 |
| 2023-24 | £2,258.40 |
| 2024-25 | £2,373.57 |
| 2025-26 | £2,493.36 |
| 2026-27 | £2,625.79 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 64.2 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 66.9 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 72.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 71.9 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 69.9 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 64.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 78.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 80.9 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 77.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 76.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 76.5 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 73.2% |
| 2016/17 | 73.5% |
| 2017/18 | 72.5% |
| 2018/19 | 73.6% |
| 2019/20 | 74.4% |
| 2020/21 | 71.9% |
| 2021/22 | 68.2% |
| 2022/23 | 65.8% |
| 2023/24 | 71.3% |
| 2024/25 | 70.9% |
| 2025/26 | 73.6% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 83.5 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 83.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.7 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 83.6 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 83.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 83.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 83.2 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 83.3 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 5,585 |
| 2017 | 5,645 |
| 2018 | 5,660 |
| 2019 | 5,680 |
| 2020 | 5,555 |
| 2021 | 5,525 |
| 2022 | 5,635 |
| 2023 | 5,660 |
| 2024 | 5,605 |
| 2025 | 5,635 |
| 2026 | 5,680 |
Questions about Isle of Wight
What is the average house price in Isle of Wight?
£245,900 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-0.9% on a year).
What is the average salary in Isle of Wight?
£662.10 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the population of Isle of Wight?
140,777 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How much is Band D council tax in Isle of Wight?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,625.79 for 2026-27.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Isle of Wight?
The ONS claimant count was 2,850 in August 2026, 3.6% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Isle of Wight?
76.5 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is life expectancy in Isle of Wight?
84.0 years for women and 80.5 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Isle of Wight
Every body that makes decisions for Isle of Wight, 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
- Isle of Wight council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Isle of Wight 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
- Isle of Wight East: Joe Robertson (Conservative) MP
- Isle of Wight West: Richard Quigley (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 average house price · UK average weekly earnings growth · UK population
- Other council areas in the South East: Ashford · Eastleigh · Elmbridge · Thanet · Tonbridge and Malling · Waverley
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the average salary 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.