Portsmouth: local statistics
Portsmouth is a unitary authority in the South East, home to an estimated 211,475 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 Portsmouth, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A typical home in Portsmouth cost £251,220 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 1.3% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 60th highest of 64 in the South East (regional average £380,878). Since July 2016 prices have risen 33%; the July high in the series was £254,831 in 2023. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Portsmouth (£36,022) gives a ratio of 7.0. That ratio is the 59th highest ratio of 64 in the South East.
The police recorded 114.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in Portsmouth in the year to March 2026 (24,163 offences in all), the 2nd highest rate of the 55 council areas in the South East. That compares with 115.1 per 1,000 the year before. In the year to March 2016 it was 105.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The median full-time employee living in Portsmouth was paid £701.10 a week before tax in April 2025, or £36,022 over a year. That is 14.0% below the figure for the South East and the 60th highest of the 64 council areas in the South East. For full-time jobs located in Portsmouth the median is £763.50 a week (+£62.40 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £513.40: a change of +37% before inflation.
Average Band D council tax in Portsmouth is £2,291.71 for 2026-27, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. That makes it 60th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,441.39, so it has risen 59%.
Life expectancy at birth in Portsmouth is 82.6 years for women and 78.1 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.4 years for women and +0.0 for men. It is 60th of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest for women.
The claimant count for Portsmouth stood at 6,455 in August 2026, or 4.5% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.1% in the South East. The rate was the same a year earlier. The five-year high was 6.0% (August 2021); the low was 4.2% (May 2023).
The ONS estimates that 211,475 people lived in Portsmouth in mid-2025, down 0.7% on mid-2024. The ten-year change since mid-2015 is +1.7%; the South East grew by 8.1% over the same years, the 57th fastest growth of 64 in the South East. The series peaked at 213,939 in mid-2023.
The ONS counted 7,720 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Portsmouth in March 2026, 8% more than in 2016. There are 37 per 1,000 residents, 61st of 64 in the South East, counting from the highest.
An estimated 77.8% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Portsmouth were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 3.4 points); the figure for the South East was 78.9%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 70.9% to 79.7%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 207,873 |
| 2016 | 209,951 |
| 2017 | 210,965 |
| 2018 | 211,215 |
| 2019 | 210,412 |
| 2020 | 209,142 |
| 2021 | 207,119 |
| 2022 | 209,614 |
| 2023 | 213,939 |
| 2024 | 212,936 |
| 2025 | 211,475 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £189,165 |
| July 2017 | £202,075 |
| July 2018 | £207,724 |
| July 2019 | £211,156 |
| July 2020 | £212,310 |
| July 2021 | £226,038 |
| July 2022 | £251,248 |
| July 2023 | £254,831 |
| July 2024 | £244,686 |
| July 2025 | £247,973 |
| July 2026 | £251,220 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £513.40 a week |
| 2016 | £510.20 a week |
| 2017 | £503.10 a week |
| 2018 | £512.70 a week |
| 2019 | £563.90 a week |
| 2020 | £538.50 a week |
| 2021 | £604.00 a week |
| 2022 | £628.20 a week |
| 2023 | £662.20 a week |
| 2024 | £690.10 a week |
| 2025 | £701.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,441.39 |
| 2017-18 | £1,508.42 |
| 2018-19 | £1,579.81 |
| 2019-20 | £1,665.85 |
| 2020-21 | £1,732.92 |
| 2021-22 | £1,821.76 |
| 2022-23 | £1,882.35 |
| 2023-24 | £1,980.76 |
| 2024-25 | £2,075.45 |
| 2025-26 | £2,180.92 |
| 2026-27 | £2,291.71 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 105.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 118.6 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 132.4 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 122.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 120.5 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 109.3 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 136.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 130.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 118.3 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 115.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 114.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 71.7% |
| 2016/17 | 71.9% |
| 2017/18 | 74.8% |
| 2018/19 | 73.1% |
| 2019/20 | 70.9% |
| 2020/21 | 76.2% |
| 2021/22 | 74.8% |
| 2022/23 | 78.1% |
| 2023/24 | 79.7% |
| 2024/25 | 79.7% |
| 2025/26 | 77.8% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.2 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.3 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.3 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.0 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.5 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.4 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.2 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.6 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 7,150 |
| 2017 | 7,465 |
| 2018 | 7,525 |
| 2019 | 7,880 |
| 2020 | 8,000 |
| 2021 | 8,250 |
| 2022 | 7,810 |
| 2023 | 7,630 |
| 2024 | 7,580 |
| 2025 | 7,615 |
| 2026 | 7,720 |
Questions about Portsmouth
What is the average house price in Portsmouth?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £251,220.
What is the crime rate in Portsmouth?
114.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average salary in Portsmouth?
£701.10 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
How much is Band D council tax in Portsmouth?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,291.71 for 2026-27.
What is life expectancy in Portsmouth?
82.6 years for women and 78.1 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Portsmouth?
6,455 in August 2026 (4.5% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the population of Portsmouth?
The ONS estimates 211,475 people lived in Portsmouth in mid-2025.
Who has power over Portsmouth
Every body that makes decisions for Portsmouth, 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
- Portsmouth council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Portsmouth 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
- Portsmouth North: Amanda Martin (Labour) MP
- Portsmouth South: Stephen Morgan (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 · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · UK average weekly earnings growth
- Other council areas in the South East: Arun · Basingstoke and Deane · Maidstone · New Forest · Reading · Wokingham
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the average salary in 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.