West Sussex demographics.
West Sussex · Census 2023 · latest available data
A data-driven statistical profile of West Sussex — town populations, census figures, and key demographic indicators drawn from the latest available official data.
Population
67,736,802
World share: 0.84 %
Median age
40.1
Global rank: #21
Urban population
85.5 %
57,900,076 people
Density
280 / km²
People per km²
Fertility rate
1.57
Births per woman
- 01 / Population
Who lives here, and how that is changing.
Headline population counts, density and household structure, with the six-year growth trend.
- Population basics
- Total population
- 67,736,8022023
- Population density
- 280 / km²UK average
- Yearly change
- 0.34 %227,866
- Urban population
- 85.5 %57,900,076
- Net migration
- 165,790Annual net
- World population
- 0.84 %8,045,311,447
- Population trend
Total resident population in thousands. A rising line means net growth from births and inward migration.
- 02 / Age & gender
The shape of the population pyramid.
Age band distribution split by gender, with dependency and vital statistics.
- Age pyramid
Share of the total population in each age band, split by gender - wide middle bands indicate a strong working-age base.
- Vital statistics
- Median age
- 39.4 yrs40.2 yrs
- Dependency ratio
- 58.456.9
- Male
- 49.3%49.0%
- Female
- 50.7%51.0%
- Aged 65+
- 16.4%18.4%
- 03 / Housing & households
Tenure, dwelling type and household composition.
Census 2021 housing indicators for the area, benchmarked against England.
- Tenure & conditions
- Home ownership
- 61.0%62.5%
- Social rented
- 17.0%17.1%
- Private rented
- 22.0%20.4%
- Overcrowded households
- 6.1%8.4%
- No central heating
- 1.3%1.5%
- Property type mix
Composition of the housing stock by build type, as a share of all dwellings.
- Tenure split
How households occupy their homes - the owned versus rented balance drives local market liquidity.
- 04 / Employment & economy
Where the jobs and the output are.
Labour market headlines and the sector composition of local employment.
- Labour market
- Economically active
- 76.2%75.7%
- Unemployed
- 3.4%3.5%
- Full-time employees
- 42.1%41.6%
- Self-employed
- 11.8%12.4%
- Students (economically active)
- 5.6%5.2%
- Retired
- 20.9%21.6%
- Top employment sectors
Share of total employment by industry - a concentrated profile signals exposure to one sector's cycle.
- 05 / Education & qualifications
Attainment and the local skills base.
School performance and the qualification profile of working-age residents.
- Attainment & schools
- Level 4+ qualification
- 40.2%33.9%
- No qualifications
- 16.0%18.1%
- Apprenticeship
- 5.1%5.3%
- Full-time students 16+
- 8.4%7.9%
- Schoolchildren aged 5–15
- 12.6%12.4%
- Qualification levels
Highest qualification held by residents aged 16+. Level 4+ covers degree-level and above.
- 06 / Health & wellbeing
Life expectancy, access and deprivation.
Population health outcomes alongside primary care capacity and deprivation ranking.
- Health indicators
- Very good health
- 48.6%48.5%
- Good health
- 33.1%33.7%
- Bad or very bad health
- 5.8%5.2%
- Disabled (day-to-day limited)
- 18.2%17.3%
- Provides unpaid care
- 9.1%8.9%
- Life expectancy (male)
- 79.1 yrs79.4 yrs
- Life expectancy (female)
- 82.9 yrs83.1 yrs
- Healthy life expectancy
- 62.4 yrs63.1 yrs
- IMD decile
- 5 of 10-
- Deprivation
5
IMD decile out of 10 (1 = most deprived). The United Kingdom shows variation across regions, with pockets of both high affluence and concentrated deprivation.
- 07 / Ethnicity, language & religion
The cultural make-up of the area.
Census-based breakdowns of ethnic group, country of birth, language and religion.
- Ethnic group
Share of residents by broad census ethnic group.
- Religion
Stated religion at the last census, as a share of residents.
- Origin & language
- Born in the UK
- 83.6%83.2%
- Born outside the UK
- 16.4%16.8%
- English as main language
- 94.2%91.1%
- Cannot speak English well
- 1.4%1.9%
- 08 / Transport & commuting
How people move around.
Commuting modes, journey times, car ownership and network connectivity.
- Mode of travel to work
Primary commute mode for working residents, including those who mainly work from home.
- Network & journey times
- Average commute
- 29 min28 min
- No car or van
- 24.0%23.5%
- 2+ cars or vans
- 34.0%33.1%
- Work mainly from home
- 17.0%21.0%
- Car ownership
Households by number of cars or vans available.
— 09 / Political & administrative
Who governs, and how engaged residents are.
Administrative structure, council tax levels, political control and turnout.
— Governance
- Parliamentary constituencies
- 12
- Council type
- Metropolitan / two-tier
- Council tax (Band D)
- £2,148
- Political control
- Labour majority
- General election turnout
- 62.4%
- Local election turnout
- 31.8%
— 10 / Crime & safety
Recorded crime and its composition.
Police.uk recorded offences, normalised per 1,000 residents and split by offence type.
— Headline rates
- Crime rate per 1,000
- 94.689.7
- Police force
- West Yorkshire Police—
- Year-on-year change
- -2.8%-1.4%
— Crime type breakdown
Share of all recorded offences by category over the last 12 months.
— 11 / Environment & climate
Green space, air quality and climate risk.
Environmental quality indicators and exposure to flooding across the area.
— Environmental indicators
- Green space coverage
- 38.4%40.1%
- NO₂ (annual mean)
- 21 µg/m³18 µg/m³
- PM2.5 (annual mean)
- 9.4 µg/m³9.1 µg/m³
- Area at flood risk
- 6.2%8.0%
- Annual rainfall
- 812 mm838 mm
- Sunshine hours
- 1,4101,493
— 12 / UK Cities
Population of major UK cities.
Top 10 UK cities by population, sourced from the latest available census and administrative data.
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 7,556,900 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 984,333 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 864,122 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 729,977 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 685,368 |
| 6 | Bristol | 617,280 |
| 7 | Glasgow | 591,620 |
| 8 | Leicester | 508,916 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | 464,990 |
| 10 | Leeds | 455,123 |
— 12b / County Towns
Town populations within the county.
Built-up area populations across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| # | Town | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crawley | 99,820 | 106,612 | 120,549 |
| 2 | Worthing | 97,836 | 104,906 | 111,621 |
| 3 | Bognor Regis | 60,409 | 62,493 | 68,408 |
| 4 | Horsham | 44,620 | 47,738 | 50,223 |
| 5 | Haywards Heath | 29,551 | 34,301 | 40,184 |
| 6 | Rustington | 29,055 | 31,793 | 33,888 |
| 7 | Burgess Hill | 29,388 | 30,635 | 33,352 |
| 8 | Chichester | 25,321 | 28,474 | 31,729 |
| 9 | Lancing | 26,905 | 27,003 | 27,933 |
| 10 | East Grinstead | 22,869 | 25,214 | 26,372 |
| 11 | Shoreham-by-Sea | 20,569 | 21,926 | 23,676 |
| 12 | Littlehampton | 17,209 | 18,415 | 19,065 |
| 13 | Hassocks (/ Hurstpierpoint) | 11,144 | 12,706 | 14,211 |
| 14 | Wick | 8,385 | 9,380 | 13,220 |
| 15 | Southwick | 11,488 | 11,535 | 12,236 |
| 16 | Southwater | 9,219 | 9,626 | 11,202 |
| 17 | Selsey | 9,725 | 10,550 | 10,738 |
| 18 | Barnham | 8,104 | 8,805 | 10,143 |
| 19 | Billingshurst | 5,587 | 7,066 | 9,127 |
| 20 | Storrington | 7,358 | 8,233 | 8,709 |
| 21 | Broadbridge Heath | 3,021 | 3,112 | 6,354 |
| 22 | Yapton | 4,830 | 5,479 | 6,339 |
| 23 | East Wittering | 5,127 | 5,647 | 6,059 |
| 24 | Crawley Down | 5,257 | 5,221 | 5,774 |
| 25 | Henfield | 4,669 | 4,962 | 5,626 |
| 26 | Steyning | 5,478 | 5,709 | 5,514 |
| 27 | Midhurst | 4,889 | 4,914 | 5,371 |
| 28 | Copthorne | 4,640 | 4,917 | 4,915 |
| 29 | Southbourne | 3,387 | 3,515 | 4,155 |
| 30 | Tangmere | 3,065 | 3,269 | 3,998 |
| 31 | Cuckfield | 3,266 | 3,500 | 3,767 |
| 32 | Pulborough | 3,288 | 3,522 | 3,652 |
| 33 | Fishbourne | 2,577 | 2,992 | 3,369 |
| 34 | Upper Beeding | 3,136 | 3,070 | 3,097 |
| 35 | West Chiltington | 3,036 | 3,077 | 3,093 |
| 36 | Arundel | 3,047 | 3,030 | 3,034 |
| 37 | Hambrook (/ Nutbourne) | 1,900 | 2,002 | 2,752 |
| 38 | Bosham | 2,604 | 2,623 | 2,694 |
| 39 | Ashington | 2,351 | 2,526 | 2,687 |
| 40 | Petworth | 2,298 | 2,544 | 2,593 |
| 41 | Rudgwick | 1,951 | 1,955 | 2,146 |
| 42 | Westbourne | 1,756 | 1,907 | 1,940 |
| 43 | Partridge Green | 2,009 | 2,039 | 1,913 |
| 44 | Findon | 1,720 | 1,886 | 1,838 |
| 45 | Fernhurst | 1,718 | 1,822 | 1,829 |
| 46 | West Thorney | 1,078 | 1,183 | 1,730 |
| 47 | Pease Pottage | 621 | 955 | 1,691 |
| 48 | Ardingly | 1,506 | 1,686 | 1,645 |
| 49 | Ashurst Wood | 1,482 | 1,529 | 1,503 |
| 50 | Balcombe | 1,303 | 1,424 | 1,444 |
| 51 | Mid Lavant | 1,283 | 1,349 | 1,442 |
| 52 | Handcross | 1,070 | 1,223 | 1,400 |
| 53 | Easebourne | 1,316 | 1,344 | 1,396 |
| 54 | Cowfold | 1,271 | 1,301 | 1,378 |
| 55 | Pagham | 1,285 | 1,286 | 1,292 |
| 56 | Codmore Hill | 619 | 875 | 1,288 |
| 57 | Westhampnett | 460 | 709 | 1,238 |
| 58 | Walberton | 1,133 | 1,131 | 1,237 |
| 59 | Ifold | 1,066 | 1,129 | 1,202 |
| 60 | Hill Brow (/ Rake) | 1,122 | 1,191 | 1,200 |
| 61 | Slinfold | 958 | 1,147 | 1,163 |
| 62 | Hunston | 950 | 1,124 | 1,152 |
| 63 | Mannings Heath | 1,051 | 1,108 | 1,138 |
| 64 | Horsted Keynes | 1,141 | 1,180 | 1,121 |
| 65 | Barns Green | 959 | 982 | 1,107 |
| 66 | Abingworth | 709 | 697 | 1,039 |
| 67 | Loxwood | 814 | 956 | 1,027 |
| 68 | Turners Hill | 797 | 885 | 946 |
| 69 | Wisborough Green | 797 | 843 | 892 |
| 70 | Birdham | 822 | 882 | 884 |
| 71 | Sayers Common | 771 | 869 | 870 |
| 72 | Bramber | 887 | 848 | 854 |
| 73 | Warnham | 842 | 888 | 834 |
| 74 | West Wittering | 917 | 875 | 822 |
| 75 | South Harting | 762 | 767 | 802 |
| 76 | Small Dole | 753 | 796 | 786 |
| 77 | Fittleworth | 690 | 681 | 738 |
| 78 | Kirdford | 595 | 745 | 732 |
| 79 | West Hoathly | 722 | 709 | 730 |
| 80 | Scayne's Hill | 691 | 666 | 717 |
| 81 | North Mundham | 470 | 502 | 713 |
| 82 | Sharpthorne | 752 | 737 | 705 |
| 83 | Albourne | 600 | 644 | 695 |
| 84 | Rusper | 517 | 647 | 667 |
| 85 | Bolney | 559 | 591 | 638 |
| 86 | Northchapel | 648 | 622 | 616 |
| 87 | Highleigh | 542 | 548 | 607 |
| 88 | Coldwaltham | 563 | 597 | 597 |
| 89 | Amberley | 533 | 586 | 566 |
| 90 | Stedham | 597 | 544 | 561 |
| 91 | Slindon | 590 | 595 | 541 |
| 92 | Singleton | 476 | 480 | 517 |
| 93 | Almodington | 447 | 459 | 510 |
— 13 / English Regions
Regional population comparison.
Population figures for English regions across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| Region | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4,172,174 | 4,533,222 | 4,880,054 |
| East of England | 5,388,140 | 5,846,965 | 6,335,074 |
| North East England | 2,515,442 | 2,596,886 | 2,647,013 |
| North West England | 6,729,764 | 7,052,177 | 7,417,397 |
| South East England | 8,000,645 | 8,634,750 | 9,278,065 |
| South West England | 4,928,434 | 5,288,935 | 5,701,186 |
| West Midlands | 5,267,308 | 5,601,847 | 5,950,757 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,964,833 | 5,283,733 | 5,480,777 |
— Data sources
- ONS — population, age, ethnicity, housing
- Nomis — employment, earnings, qualifications
- Census 2021 (Nomis) — area vs England comparisons
- Police.uk — crime data
- MHCLG — Index of Multiple Deprivation
- Postcodes.io / GeoNames — boundary mapping