So far, data below applies to Brighton only
Beware of spurious accuracy resulting from applying estimated multiplying factors. These are broad estimates only.
| year | population (est) | based on | multiplier | source |
| 1086 | c400 | Domesday Book, 1086. | ||
| 1566 | c1,100 | ?? | ||
| c1580 | >3,000 | L Salzman: Victoria County History, 1940. | ||
| c1640 | 2,850 | nearly 600 families | 4.75 | T Cox: Magna Britannia et Hibernia, v, 1730, p510. |
| 1665 | 1,268 | 267 houses | 4.75 | L Salzman: Victoria County History, 1940. |
| 1676 | 3,340 | 2,000 of communicant age (?) | 1.67 | J H Cooper: 'A religious census of Sussex in 1676 in SAC, xlv, 1903, p144 |
| 1700 | 1,400-1,500 | L Salzman: Victoria County History, 1940. | ||
| 1724 | 2,375 | 500 families | 4.75 | WSRO Ep I/26/3: Bishop Bower's Visitation. |
| 1730 | <1,900 | one third less than c1640 | 4.75 | Cox, 1730. |
| 1744 | 2,380 | 454 houses | 5.25 | J G Bishop: A Peep into the Past: Brighton in 1744-61. Brighton, 1895. |
| 1747 | 2,150 | 410 houses | 5.25 | Bishop, 1895. |
| 1753 | 2,140 | 407 houses | 5.25 | Bishop, 1895. |
| 1761 | 2,035 | 400 families | 5.0 | Anthony Relhan: A Short History of Brighthelmston, 1761, re-edited by J C Michell (Brighton, 1829), p32. Relhan estimated 5/HH +35 in the workhouse. |
| 1770 | 3,140 | 598 houses | 5.25 | [P Dunvan]: Ancient and Modern History of Lewes and Brighthelmston, Lewes, 1795, pp490, 553. |
| 1786 | 3,620 | [local census at the time of a smallpox outbreak] | W A Barron: 'Gleanings from Sussex archives: Brighton and the smallpox' in Sussex County Magazine, xxvi, 1952, p606. | |
| 1794 | 5,669 | [local census at the time of a smallpox outbreak] | 4.6 | [Dunvan], 1795 |
Source: adapted from J H & S P Farrant: Brighton Before Dr Russell. Brighton: University of Sussex Centre for Continuing Education, 1976; apart from figures from the Victoria County History. Some additional estimates.
| year | Brighton | Hove | |||
| year | population | people/HH | people/inhabited house | households | population |
| 1801 | 7,339 | 5.32 | 5.72 | 1,282 | 101 |
| 1811 | 12,012 | 4.97 | 5.78 | 193 | |
| 1821 | 24,429 | 5.18 | 6.19 | 312 | |
| 1831 | 40,634 | 4.72 | 5.21 | 1,360 | |
| 1841 | 46,661 | 4 | 4 | 2,509 | |
| ... | |||||
| 1881 | 107,549 | 6.20 | |||
| 1891 | 115,873 | 5.93 | |||
| 1901 | 123,478 | 5.70 | |||
Source: decennial census
| population | population | change | change | population | population | change | change | |||
| year | Brighton | Hove/Preston | Brighton | Hove/Preston | year | Brighton | Hove | Brighton | Hove | |
| 1801 | 7,339 | 1911 | 131,327 | 41,273 | +6.4% | |||||
| 1811 | 12,012 | +63.7% | 1921 | 142,430 | +8.5% | |||||
| 1821 | 24,429 | +103.4% | 1931 | 147,427 | +3.5% | |||||
| 1831 | 40,634 | +66.3% | 1941 | 127,300e | -13.7% | |||||
| 1841 | 46,661 | +14.8% | 1951 | 156,486 | +22.9% | |||||
| 1851 | 65,569 | +40.5% | 1961 | 163,159 | +4.3% | |||||
| 1861 | 77,693 | 10,668 | +18.5% | 1971 | 161,351 | -2.0% | ||||
| 1871 | 90,011 | 13,749 | +15.9% | 28.9% | 1981 | 149,400 | -7.4% | |||
| 1881 | 107,546 | 29,333 | +10.1% | 113.3% | 1991 | 153,900 | +3.0% | |||
| 1891 | 115,873 | 33,720 | +7.7% | 15.0% | 2001 | 155,919 | +1.3% | |||
| 1901 | 123,478 | 50,860 | +6.6% | 2011* | 273,369 | |||||
| *Brighton and Hove | ||||||||||
Page updated 17 June 2019