Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
Brighton and Hove Wages, Employment and Property Affordability
Resident earnings, employment, unemployment and affordability context for reading Brighton and Hove prices and rents.
Apr 2025-Mar 2026 / ASHE 2026
Brighton and Hove wages, employment and affordability
Resident earnings and labour-market context help explain local affordability, rental pressure and housing demand.
Resident population
284,170
ONS 2025
Median resident annual pay
£39,806
Brighton and Hove
Median resident weekly pay
£766
Full-time employees
Employment rate
76.9%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
8.8%
Economically active
Average monthly rent compared with estimated monthly earnings.
Labour market rates are from the ONS Annual Population Survey profile shown by Nomis. Where the local APS unemployment value is suppressed, the ONS model-based unemployment estimate is used. Earnings are ONS ASHE resident-analysis median full-time employee earnings. Annual pay is annualised from weekly pay for display context.
Incomes Explain Affordability Pressure
Wage and employment data does not predict house prices by itself. It gives demand-side context: how average prices and rents compare with resident earnings, whether employment conditions support demand, and where affordability pressure may limit the buyer or renter pool.
Brighton and Hove’s labour market profile for Apr 2025 to Mar 2026 shows a city with a large working-age base and relatively solid employment, but also a higher-than-average unemployment rate. The resident population stood at 284,170 in 2025, so these figures describe a sizeable local economy with many households drawing income from work.