Oxford's population statistics

Key Facts about Oxford

Oxford is a dynamic international city

• Population: 162,100 (ONS 2021 Census) (NEW)
• 34,945 students are enrolled for full-time studies in two universities, making up about 22% of the population of the city.
• The second highest ethnic minority population in south-east England
• 35% of residents were born outside of the United Kingdom

Visit one of the following pages for more information:

• age and gender
• ethnicity
• students

Oxford has a growing economy

• Just over 70% of jobs are in knowledge-intensive industries
• 4,950 businesses provide 117,000 employee jobs (NEW 2021)
• There are more jobs than residents - the jobs density ratio is 1.10 (NEW 2021)
• Oxford contributed 7.1 billion to the economy in 2020
• Key sectors of industry according to Census 2021 data are Education (23.4%), Human Health and Social Work Activities (19.0%), Professional, scientific and technical activities (9.4%), Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (9.3%), Information and communication (6.0%), Manufacturing (5.6%) and Accommodation and food service activities (5.3%).

See our Economic statistics pages for information on Oxford's economy.

Oxford is not without its challenges

• 10 out of 83 neighbourhoods are amongst the 20% most deprived in England
• 19% of adults have no or low educational qualifications  (ONS 2021 Census) (NEW)
• After housing costs, 1 in 4 children live below the poverty line
• Men in the most deprived areas live 15 years less on average than those who live in the least deprived areas
• Average house prices are 12 times (see the House price to workplace-based earnings ratio data on the ONS website) the average earnings - the mean house price is £560,8800 (see the Mean house prices for administrative geographies data on the ONS website)
• Median rent for a three-bedroom home is over half of median earnings

Area Profiles

Reports for Oxford and Oxfordshire's key geographies - local authorities, wards, and neighbourhoods.

Data

Population estimates and projections 2001-2026.

The 2019 Oxford Indices of Deprivation report provides charts and maps of relative deprivation throughout the city.

Housing data and market trends reports can be found on our Housing statistics page.