What was the population of the Isle of Wight at the 2021 Census?

140,459 usual residents on Census Day, 21 March 2021, up about 1.6% from roughly 138,300 in 2011. That was much slower growth than England (6.6%) or the South East (7.5%).

What is the biggest town on the Isle of Wight?

Newport, with about 25,400 people in its built-up area at the 2021 Census, just ahead of Ryde at about 24,100. Cowes (about 14,400) and Sandown (about 11,700) come next.

Is the Isle of Wight population old?

Yes, compared with England. In mid-2025, 31.0% of residents were 65 or over, against 19.1% across England. At the 2021 Census the median age was 51, compared with 40 for England.

Is the Isle of Wight population growing?

Only slowly, and not every year. ONS estimates put it at 141,356 in mid-2024 and 140,777 in mid-2025, a small fall. Over the decade to 2021 it grew by about 1.6%.

How many visitors come to the Isle of Wight?

Visit Isle of Wight counted 826,249 day and overnight visits between January and June 2025, down 5.1% on the same period in 2024. Its quarterly surveys report changes rather than a single annual headcount, so treat any round yearly figure with care.

Isle of Wight Population: About 140,800 (ONS, 2025)

About 140,800 people live on the Isle of Wight. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the population at 140,777 in mid-2025, in figures published on 29 July 2026. The last census, on 21 March 2021, counted 140,459 usual residents. The population is older than England's: nearly a third of islanders are 65 or over.

The latest figuresSection titled The latest figures

Measure	Figure	Source and date
Population, mid-2025 estimate	140,777	ONS, published 29 July 2026
Population, mid-2024 estimate	141,356	ONS
Census 2021	140,459	ONS, Census Day 21 March 2021
Census 2011	about 138,300	ONS
Change 2011 to 2021	+1.6% (England +6.6%)	ONS
Male / female, mid-2025	68,102 / 72,675	ONS

The mid-year estimates are the ONS's best figure for 30 June each year, rolled forward from the census using births, deaths and migration. In the year to mid-2025 the island's estimate fell by 579 people, while England and Wales as a whole grew by 0.4%.

Mid-year estimates since the census have stayed in a narrow band: 140,682 in 2022, 141,169 in 2023, 141,356 in 2024 and 140,777 in 2025. In practical terms, the island has had about 140,000 to 141,000 residents for a decade.

The largest townsSection titled The largest towns

Towns don't have fixed legal boundaries, so the ONS measures them as "built-up areas": continuous areas of buildings. These are the figures from the 2021 Census:

Town	Population (2021 Census, built-up area)
Newport	25,405
Ryde	24,105
Cowes	14,365
Sandown	11,655

ONS figures released under FOI-2023-1304 (September 2023).

The ONS only released built-up area figures for those four. For the next tier of towns, the 2021 Census parish populations give a guide: Shanklin 9,123, East Cowes 8,428, Sandown parish 7,125 (much smaller than its built-up area), Freshwater 5,646, Ventnor 5,567 and Totland 2,960.

Newport is the county town and the island's main shopping and administrative centre, sitting in the middle of the island at the head of the River Medina. Ryde, where the Portsmouth catamaran and the Southsea hovercraft arrive, is almost as large. Cowes and East Cowes face each other across the Medina estuary, and Sandown and Shanklin are the main resorts on the east coast.

Parish figures are different again because parishes draw their boundaries differently. Newport and Carisbrooke parish, for example, had 26,376 residents in 2021, so be careful when comparing numbers from different sources.

An older populationSection titled An older population

The island is one of the oldest places in the South East.

Age group (mid-2025)	Isle of Wight	South East	England
Aged 0 to 15	14.1%	18.1%	17.9%
Aged 65 and over	31.0%	20.2%	19.1%
Aged 85 and over	4.2%	—	—

ONS mid-2025 population estimates, via Nomis.

At the 2021 Census the island's median age was 51, up from 46 in 2011, against 40 for England. The ONS said this was the joint second-highest median age in the South East. Between 2011 and 2021:

the number of people aged 65 to 74 rose by about 4,600 (26.7%)
the number aged 35 to 49 fell by just under 5,100 (18.8%)

The 2021 Census also found that 33.2% of residents aged 16 and over were retired, compared with 30.6% in 2011, while the share in work fell from 50.2% to 47.5% (England: 55.7%).

Other census factsSection titled Other census facts

From the ONS comparison of the 2011 and 2021 censuses:

Housing: 67.6% of households owned their home, above the England figure of 61.3%. Private renting rose from 17.4% to 20.7%.
Born in England: about 128,500 residents (91.5%).
Ethnic group: 97.0% of residents identified as White, against 81.0% across England.
Religion: 47.7% described themselves as Christian and 43.9% said they had no religion.
Density: the ONS describes the island as among the least densely populated 35% of local authority areas in England. It covers about 380 square kilometres; see how big is the Isle of Wight?

How many visitors come in summer?Section titled How many visitors come in summer?

There's no reliable single figure for how many people are on the island on a summer's day. What exists is the Isle of Wight Passenger Survey, run for Visit Isle of Wight, the island's tourism body. Interviewers question passengers on board and in the departure lounges of all six cross-Solent routes.

The most recent published totals:

January to June 2025: 826,249 day and overnight visits, down 5.1% on the same period in 2024. Day visitors rose 6.2% and short breaks of one to three nights rose 9.1%, while stays of four nights or more fell 4.6%. Visitors spent £101.2 million, excluding ferry fares.
July to September 2025: total visitors fell 3.7% compared with summer 2024, and the year to September was down 4.6%. The published reports gave percentage changes rather than a headcount for the quarter.

Even without an exact summer number, the scale is clear: hundreds of thousands of visits in each half-year, against a resident population of about 141,000. Summer weekends and event weeks, such as the Isle of Wight Festival in June and Cowes Week in August, are when the ferries and roads are busiest. If you're planning around crowds, our ferry day planner and winter guide cover the quieter options.

Living on the islandSection titled Living on the island

If you're thinking about joining the 140,000, there are no special rules about who can move here. See can anyone live on the Isle of Wight? and is the Isle of Wight part of England? for how the island is governed.