Brighton and Hove population, 2001–2024
Brighton and Hove has an estimated population of 283,870 (mid-2024), up 13.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Brighton and Hove local authority area.
283,870
population, mid-2024
+13.6%
since 2001
+2.9%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (283,870)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 283,870 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 281,135 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 278,000 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 276,454 | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 278,496 | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 279,920 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 281,250 | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 279,500 | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 279,796 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 277,351 | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 275,999 | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 275,494 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 274,051 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 272,952 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 269,495 | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 265,584 | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 262,019 | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 258,161 | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 255,564 | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 252,863 | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 249,847 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 249,846 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 249,743 | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 249,949 | — |
Food businesses
Brighton and Hove has 259 takeaways, 1,008 restaurants and cafés and 346 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.26 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 9.1 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Brighton and Hove has 210 hairdressers and beauty salons, 220 pubs and bars, 285 licensed restaurants, 215 takeaways on the ONS business register (2025). Compare across the UK.
Rounded to the nearest 5, which is how ONS protects individual businesses from being identified.
Figures are ONS mid-year population estimates for the Brighton and Hove local authority area (code E06000043), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Brighton and Hove?
283,870, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Brighton and Hove local authority area. This page charts the full annual series back to 2001, so the figure sits in its twenty-year context rather than alone.
Is Brighton and Hove growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 13.6% since 2001, from 249,949 to 283,870. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.