Living in Selsey
Figures last changed 2 November 2026. House prices for Selsey are on the main Selsey page.
What stands out in Selsey: older than most of England, with 37% of people 65 or over, against 18%; and council tax above the Chichester district average, at £2,524 for Band D against £2,470.
- Residents
- 10,918
- at the 2021 Census
- Median age
- 57
- England 40
- Band D council tax
- £2,524
- 2026 to 2027
- Crimes per 1,000
- 54
- against 64 across the district
Selsey population: who lives there
About 10,900 people lived in Selsey at the 2021 Census, in about 5,090 households, and they were older than most of England: 37% were 65 or over, against 18% in England.
| Selsey | Chichester district | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People aged 65 or over | 37% | 27% | 18% |
| Median age | 57 | 49 | 40 |
| Homes owned outright | 54% | 42% | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 21% | 23% | 29% |
| Shared ownership | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Rented privately | 15% | 18% | 20% |
| Rented from a council or housing association | 9% | 15% | 17% |
| Living rent free | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| One person living alone | 33% | 31% | 30% |
Most of those living alone were 66 or over. Rents are published only for whole council areas: across Chichester district, private rents averaged £1,340 a month in September 2026, up 3.5% on a year, against £1,466 in England.
The age rows are about people, the rest about households. Census output areas can take in a few homes just outside Selsey.
Source: Census 2021 (Office for National Statistics, via Nomis) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents.
Selsey council tax
A Band D home in Selsey is charged £2,524 in council tax for 2026 to 2027, against an average of £2,470 across Chichester district.
| Goes to | A year |
|---|---|
| West Sussex County Council | £1,890 |
| Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner | £282 |
| Chichester District Council | £198 |
| Selsey Town Council | £154 |
| Band D bill | £2,524 |
The other bands are fixed shares of Band D: Band A is £1,683, Band C £2,244, Band E £3,085 and Band H, the highest, £5,049.
These are full bills before discounts: one adult living alone gets 25% off. A home's band is on the Valuation Office Agency's register.
Source: Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England (MHCLG), Table 10 · Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils in England (MHCLG) · Selsey council tax, every band and the parish precept: Parish Council Tax.
Is Selsey safe? Crime
About as safe as Chichester district as a whole, by police figures: police recorded 587 crimes in and around Selsey between September 2025 and August 2026, about 54 for every 1,000 residents, against 64 across Chichester district.
| Reports | |
|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 282 |
| Criminal damage and arson | 103 |
| Public order offences | 69 |
| Anti-social behaviour, counted apart because it is not a crime | 242 |
Violence and sexual offences include threats, harassment and stalking, not only assaults. Rates are a guide: crimes against visitors and passing traffic count, but only residents are in the rate.
Source: Police recorded crime and anti-social behaviour (data.police.uk) · Census 2021 (Office for National Statistics, via Nomis).
How noisy is Selsey, and how clean is the air?
Quiet away from the main roads, on the government's noise maps: 101 of Selsey's 360 postcodes (28%) have road noise at their centre point above the World Health Organization's guideline of 53 decibels, a day and night average that weights the evening and night up. The air is within the legal limits and the WHO's guideline for nitrogen dioxide, though not its tighter one for fine particles.
| Selsey | WHO guideline | |
|---|---|---|
| Road noise at the middle postcode, decibels | 50 | 53 |
| Road noise at the loudest postcode, decibels | 67 | 53 |
| Nitrogen dioxide, 2026, micrograms per cubic metre | 7 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5), 2026, micrograms per cubic metre | 6 | 5 |
No postcode is close enough to a railway to register on the rail noise map. The legal limits are 40 for nitrogen dioxide and 20 for fine particles.
Noise is modelled at each postcode's centre, and the air figures are background levels, higher beside busy roads.
Source: Defra strategic noise maps, Round 4 (2022), road and rail · Defra background air pollution maps (2021 base year).
Living there in nearby places
- East Wittering and Bracklesham: older than most of England, with 31% of people 65 or over, against 18%
- Birdham: older than most of England, with 30% of people 65 or over, against 18%
- Donnington: road noise above the WHO's guideline at 54% of its postcodes
- West Wittering: older than most of England, with 40% of people 65 or over, against 18%
Figures cover 360 postcodes in Selsey. How these figures are made.