South West

Isles of Scilly: house prices, jobs and local statistics

Isles of Scilly is a unitary authority in the South West, home to 2,053 people at the 2021 census. 1.5% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August 2026, against 3.9% across the UK. The biggest employing sector is hotels, pubs & restaurants, with 40.5% of the 1,235 employee jobs counted in 2024.

The UK House Price Index does not publish figures for Isles of Scilly.

Jobs, pay and unemployment in Isles of Scilly

Claimant rate, August 2026

1.5%

20 people aged 16 to 64. UK: 3.9%

The claimant count is people claiming unemployment-related benefits as a share of residents aged 16 to 64; the unemployment rate is the survey measure of people out of work and looking. Pay is for full-time employees who live in the area.

Claimant count, Annual Population Survey and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (resident analysis), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Two years of claimant counts and ten of pay in the jobs explorer

What Isles of Scilly does for a living

Employee jobs, 2024

1,235

1,345 in 2019

Businesses, 2026

215

Largest sectors by share of employee jobs, 2024
Sector	Share of jobs	Great Britain
Hotels, pubs & restaurants	40.5%	7.8%
Retail, wholesale & motor trade	10.1%	13.6%
Transport & storage	8.1%	4.9%
Public administration & defence	8.1%	4.9%
Health & social care	8.1%	14.1%
Farming, forestry & fishing	4.0%	0.6%

Business Register and Employment Survey 2024 (Great Britain only). UK Business Counts 2026. Both via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Every sector and business size in the industries explorer

How Isles of Scilly has changed

Residents
2,009 in 1991 → 2,366 in 2024 (+17.8%)
England over the same years: +22.4%
Median weekly pay
£278 in 2008 → £422 in 2019 (+52.1%)
England over the same years: +21.9%
Claimant count
0.9% in 2001 → 1.0% in 2025 (+11.1%)
England over the same years: +60.0%
Disposable income per head
£12,310 in 1997 → £24,127 in 2024 (+96.0%)
England over the same years: +143.8%
Greenhouse gas emissions
6.1 t in 2005 → 2.9 t in 2024 (−53.2%)
England over the same years: −53.7%

ONS Explore local statistics, each series from its official producer; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Money figures are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Every series, charted, in the trends explorer

Who lives in Isles of Scilly

Residents, 2021

2,053

People per km², 2021

126

England and Wales: 395

Aged 65 and over

28.3%

England and Wales: 18.4%

Aged under 15

15.0%

England and Wales: 17.3%

Homes owned

44.5%

England and Wales: 61.5%

Homes rented privately

36.6%

England and Wales: 20.3%

Homes socially rented

17.3%

England and Wales: 17.1%

Degree or higher (16+)

37.9%

England and Wales: 33.8%

No qualifications (16+)

12.3%

England and Wales: 18.2%

Good or very good health

84.3%

England and Wales: 82.0%

Born in the UK

94.5%

England and Wales: 83.2%

Census 2021 topic summaries (TS001, TS006, TS007A, TS054, TS067, TS037, TS004), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

Any neighbourhood's census profile in the census explorer

How Isles of Scilly ranks among UK councils

24 official indicators are published for Isles of Scilly; 18 of them have a better and a worse direction and are ranked here. A rank of 1st is the best (lowest unemployment, highest pay, and so on).

Where it ranks best

Claimant count · Economy & work1.0% (2025) · 1st lowest of 361
Library within a 30-minute walk · Connectivity & access100% (May 2024) · 1st highest of 318
Public EV chargers · Connectivity & access676.2 per 100,000 (mid-2026) · 5th highest of 361
Children in relative poverty · Economy & work11.5% (2024/25) · 11th lowest of 363

Where it ranks worst

Fuel poverty · Economy & work17.3% (2024) · 296th lowest of 296
Time to a job centre · Connectivity & access44 min (2019) · 326th lowest of 326
High-growth businesses · Economy & work0.0% (2024) · 359th highest of 361
Gigabit broadband · Connectivity & access50.2% (January 2026) · 356th highest of 361

ONS Explore local statistics, latest figure for each indicator, ranked among council areas with a published figure; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, each indicator’s producer named on its linked ONS page.

All 24 indicators in the area scorecard

Health in Isles of Scilly

Adults overweight or obese (2024/25)60.3% · England 64.6 · 37th lowest of 153

OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-02. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.

The full health profile in the health explorer

Schools and children in Isles of Scilly

School readiness (good development at Reception) (2024/25)92.3% · England 68.3 · 1st highest of 153
GCSE Attainment 8 score (2024/25)48.7 score · England 46.0 · 38th highest of 153
Children in absolute low-income families (2024/25)8.9% · England 19.8 · 10th lowest of 153

OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, carrying DfE / ONS education measures. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-04. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.

Nearby schools and more in the education explorer

About these figures

Isles of Scilly (E06000053) is a unitary authority in the South West, one of 361 council areas this site covers. Every figure on this page is read from the official source named beneath it and carries its own date; the page is rebuilt at most once a day. Survey figures carry sampling error, so small differences between neighbouring councils are often noise. For a single street or neighbourhood rather than the whole council area, search a postcode on the dashboard.

Sources

HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (landregistry.data.gov.uk). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, OGL v3.0.
Office for National Statistics via Nomis (nomisweb.co.uk): claimant count, Annual Population Survey, ASHE, BRES, UK Business Counts and Census 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics, OGL v3.0.
ONS Explore local statistics (ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics), OGL v3.0.
Council area names and codes: mySociety, UK local authority names and codes (CC BY 4.0), from the ONS Register of Geographic Codes.