Lewes: local statistics
Lewes is a district council area in the South East, home to an estimated 102,648 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 Lewes, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A Band D home in Lewes pays an average of £2,756.17 in council tax in 2026-27, up £128.78 on 2025-26. It is the highest in the South East. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,763.93, so it has risen 56%.
In mid-2025 the population of Lewes was estimated at 102,648, a change of +0.3% in a year. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +2.9%, against +8.1% for the South East as a whole. That is the 52nd fastest growth of 64 in the South East. No earlier year in the series was higher.
The ONS counted 4,845 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Lewes in March 2026, 1% fewer than in 2016. There are 47 per 1,000 residents, mid-table in the South East, 36th of 64.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 83.5% of Lewes residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026 (give or take 6.1 points), against 78.9% across the South East. Its lowest reading in the series was 67.0% and its highest 84.1%.
In August 2026, 2,015 people in Lewes were on the claimant count, 3.5% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for the South East was 3.1%. A year earlier the rate was 3.4%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 2.9% (August 2023) and 4.5% (August 2021).
In the year to March 2026, 5,649 offences were recorded by police in Lewes: 55.0 per 1,000 people, the 34th highest rate of 55 in the South East. A year earlier it was 57.7. In the year to March 2016 it was 43.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Lewes at £368,408 for July 2026, up 0.8% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (35th highest); the average for the South East was £380,878. Since July 2016 prices have risen 21%; the July high in the series was £388,275 in 2023. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Lewes (£40,807) gives a ratio of 9.0. That ratio is mid-table in the South East, 37th of 64.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Lewes took home £829.00 a week before tax, or £40,807 over a year. That is 1.7% above the figure for the South East and close to the middle of all 64 council areas in the South East (29th highest). Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £728.30, £100.70 lower. In 2015 the residents' median was £552.50, so it has risen 50% before inflation.
Life expectancy at birth in Lewes is 84.8 years for women and 80.8 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.6 years for women and -0.2 for men. It is mid-table in the South East, 30th of 64.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 99,717 |
| 2016 | 100,062 |
| 2017 | 100,434 |
| 2018 | 100,589 |
| 2019 | 100,813 |
| 2020 | 100,443 |
| 2021 | 100,166 |
| 2022 | 100,655 |
| 2023 | 101,645 |
| 2024 | 102,323 |
| 2025 | 102,648 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £304,318 |
| July 2017 | £318,722 |
| July 2018 | £328,651 |
| July 2019 | £320,891 |
| July 2020 | £319,041 |
| July 2021 | £352,321 |
| July 2022 | £381,840 |
| July 2023 | £388,275 |
| July 2024 | £378,954 |
| July 2025 | £365,418 |
| July 2026 | £368,408 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £552.50 a week |
| 2016 | £559.10 a week |
| 2017 | £530.40 a week |
| 2018 | £566.10 a week |
| 2019 | £651.40 a week |
| 2020 | £631.70 a week |
| 2021 | £670.70 a week |
| 2022 | £670.80 a week |
| 2023 | £689.90 a week |
| 2024 | £748.90 a week |
| 2025 | £829.00 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,763.93 |
| 2017-18 | £1,841.90 |
| 2018-19 | £1,944.25 |
| 2019-20 | £2,024.32 |
| 2020-21 | £2,111.04 |
| 2021-22 | £2,189.22 |
| 2022-23 | £2,281.43 |
| 2023-24 | £2,388.17 |
| 2024-25 | £2,503.48 |
| 2025-26 | £2,627.39 |
| 2026-27 | £2,756.17 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 43.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 47.8 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 50.5 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 54.3 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 58.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 49.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 54.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 58.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 56.7 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 57.7 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 55.0 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 76.9% |
| 2016/17 | 81.9% |
| 2017/18 | 84.1% |
| 2018/19 | 71.8% |
| 2019/20 | 80.3% |
| 2020/21 | 76.3% |
| 2021/22 | 76.1% |
| 2022/23 | 67.0% |
| 2023/24 | 76.6% |
| 2024/25 | 74.5% |
| 2025/26 | 83.5% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 85.4 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 85.4 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 85.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.9 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 85.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.0 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 84.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.7 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.7 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.8 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 4,875 |
| 2017 | 4,990 |
| 2018 | 5,035 |
| 2019 | 5,015 |
| 2020 | 5,030 |
| 2021 | 4,940 |
| 2022 | 4,955 |
| 2023 | 4,920 |
| 2024 | 4,810 |
| 2025 | 4,860 |
| 2026 | 4,845 |
Questions about Lewes
How much is Band D council tax in Lewes?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,756.17 for 2026-27.
What is the population of Lewes?
The ONS estimates 102,648 people lived in Lewes in mid-2025.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Lewes?
The ONS claimant count was 2,015 in August 2026, 3.5% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the crime rate in Lewes?
55.0 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average house price in Lewes?
£368,408 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+0.8% on a year).
What is the average salary in Lewes?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Lewes was £829.00 a week in April 2025 (£40,807 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is life expectancy in Lewes?
84.8 years for women and 80.8 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Lewes
Every body that makes decisions for Lewes, 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
- Lewes council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Lewes 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
- East Grinstead and Uckfield: Mims Davies (Conservative) MP
- Lewes: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat) 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 population · UK employment rate · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in the South East: Eastbourne · Hart · Rother · Rushmoor · Spelthorne · Woking
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.