# Orkney Islands

North Scotland. 21,920 people (mid-2025 estimate) in 1,015 square kilometres, the 5th most sparsely populated council in the UK.

Orkney Islands had 21,962 usual residents at the census (Scotland's Census 2022).

Council area. Code S12000023. In: [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/scotland)

## Key figures

- **Average house price: £214,106** (July 2026). Orkney Islands’ average house price was £214,106 in July 2026 (HM Land Registry). Down 0.3% in a year. Source: UK House Price Index, July 2026. Published 16 September 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands#f-house-price-average
- **Median full-time pay: £43,430** (2025). Full-time workers living in Orkney Islands earned a median of £43,430 in 2025 (ONS earnings survey). 79th highest paid of 348. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025. Published 23 October 2025. https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands#f-median-pay-full-time
- **House price to pay: 4.9×** (2025). A home in Orkney Islands costs 4.9 times local full-time pay. Joint 39th most affordable of 348. Source: Worked out by Open Index from the UK House Price Index and the ONS earnings survey. Published 16 September 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands#f-price-against-pay
- **Population estimate: 21,920** (2025). Orkney Islands’ population was an estimated 21,920 in mid-2025 (ONS population estimates). Down 0.4% in a year. Source: Mid-year population estimates, 2025. Published 1 October 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands#f-population-estimate

## On the map

- [Deprivation by neighbourhood](https://openindex.co.uk/map/deprivation-scotland?place=S12000023) (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2): None of Orkney Islands’ 29 neighbourhoods are in Scotland’s most deprived 20%.
- [Average house price by council](https://openindex.co.uk/map/house-prices?place=S12000023) (UK House Price Index · July 2026): Orkney Islands’ average house price was £214,106 in July 2026.
- [Crimes by council](https://openindex.co.uk/map/scotland-crime-count?place=S12000023) (Recorded crimes and offences in Scotland · 2025/26): Recorded crimes (Scotland) for Orkney Islands.
- [Population by output area](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population?place=S12000023) (Census 2021, England and Wales): Orkney Islands’ 188 output areas range from 60 to 223.

## How Orkney Islands compares

Each council against every other council the measure covers.

| Measure | Orkney Islands | Rank | Compared with |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Average house price | £214,106 | 98th cheapest | 360 areas, UK · Jul 2026 |
| Annual price change | −0.3% | joint 88th weakest | 360 areas, UK · Jul 2026 |
| Median full-time pay | £43,430 | 79th highest paid | 348 areas, Great Britain · 2025 |
| House price to pay | 4.9× | joint 39th most affordable | 348 areas, Great Britain · 2025 |
| Population estimate | 21,920 | 3rd least populated | 361 areas, UK · 2025 |
| Annual population change | −0.4% | joint 41st slowest growing | 361 areas, UK · 2025 |

### House prices since 2004

Average house price each month for Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, January 2004 to July 2026. Source: UK House Price Index.

| Month | Orkney Islands | Scotland | United Kingdom |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan 2004 | £66,962 | £76,662 | £126,179 |
| Jan 2005 | £65,680 | £90,440 | £138,759 |
| Jan 2006 | £78,854 | £105,257 | £147,360 |
| Jan 2007 | £88,147 | £121,923 | £162,825 |
| Jan 2008 | £94,773 | £133,172 | £171,137 |
| Jan 2009 | £98,647 | £119,792 | £144,840 |
| Jan 2010 | £105,756 | £124,112 | £154,268 |
| Jan 2011 | £103,032 | £124,856 | £154,113 |
| Jan 2012 | £139,125 | £120,989 | £152,831 |
| Jan 2013 | £112,784 | £117,973 | £154,495 |
| Jan 2014 | £106,494 | £122,220 | £164,137 |
| Jan 2015 | £119,544 | £129,869 | £175,636 |
| Jan 2016 | £110,985 | £131,634 | £189,268 |
| Jan 2017 | £114,514 | £133,141 | £198,276 |
| Jan 2018 | £135,579 | £141,353 | £206,844 |
| Jan 2019 | £149,595 | £144,124 | £210,317 |
| Jan 2020 | £155,057 | £147,731 | £213,657 |
| Jan 2021 | £158,073 | £157,866 | £228,417 |
| Jan 2022 | £185,719 | £173,589 | £248,031 |
| Jan 2023 | £203,526 | £175,092 | £260,941 |
| Jan 2024 | £192,991 | £179,248 | £255,972 |
| Jan 2025 | £210,639 | £185,315 | £264,936 |
| Jan 2026 | £229,836 | £189,118 | £268,862 |
| Jul 2026 | £214,106 | £196,349 | £272,611 |

## Wards in Orkney Islands

[East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/ward/east-mainland-south-ronaldsay-and-burray), [Kirkwall East](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/ward/kirkwall-east), [Kirkwall West and Orphir](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/ward/kirkwall-west-and-orphir), [North Isles](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/ward/north-isles), [Stromness and South Isles](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/ward/stromness-and-south-isles), [West Mainland](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/ward/west-mainland)

## Middle areas in Orkney Islands

[East Kirkwall](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/east-kirkwall), [East Mainland](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/east-mainland), [Isles](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/isles), [Stromness, Sandwick and Stenness](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/stromness-sandwick-and-stenness), [West Kirkwall](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/west-kirkwall), [West Mainland](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/west-mainland)

## Postcodes in Orkney Islands

[Postcode districts in Orkney Islands](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/postcodes)

## Neighbourhoods in Orkney Islands

32 areas, listed on the page: https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands

## Orkney Islands in brief

Orkney Islands’ average house price was £214,106 in July 2026.
Full-time workers living in Orkney Islands earned a median of £43,430 in 2025.
A home in Orkney Islands costs 4.9 times local full-time pay.
Orkney Islands’ population was an estimated 21,920 in mid-2025.

## MPs for Orkney Islands

- [Orkney and Shetland](https://openindex.co.uk/constituency/orkney-and-shetland): Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat), MP since July 2024. 100% of the people here.

As of 18 October 2026. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. Source: UK Parliament, Members API.

## About

- Type: Council area
- Code: S12000023
- Nation: [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/scotland)
- Area: 1,015 km²
- People, mid-2025: 21,920
- Wards: 6
- Middle areas: 6
- Neighbourhoods: 32
- Output areas: 188

## Next door

[Highland](https://openindex.co.uk/highland), [Shetland Islands](https://openindex.co.uk/shetland-islands)

## Similar places

Councils with the closest mix of age, prices, pay and density. [Perth and Kinross](https://openindex.co.uk/perth-and-kinross), [Highland](https://openindex.co.uk/highland), [Aberdeenshire](https://openindex.co.uk/aberdeenshire), [South Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire), [Shetland Islands](https://openindex.co.uk/shetland-islands), [Stirling](https://openindex.co.uk/stirling).

## Latest updates for Orkney Islands

- Schools updated: Ofsted · Oct 2026.
- GP practices updated: NHS England · Oct 2026.
- Schools updated: Department for Education · Oct 2026.
- Schools updated: Department for Education · Oct 2026.

## More on this place

- [Housing](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/housing) (8)
- [Crime](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/crime) (6)
- [People](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/people) (15)
- [Deprivation](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/deprivation) (2)
- [Health](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/health) (4)
- [Education](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/education) (2)
- [Environment](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/environment) (5)
- [Transport](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/transport) (4)
- [Connectivity](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/connectivity) (5)
- [Economy](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/economy) (4)
- [Council tax](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/council-tax) (2)
- [Elections](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/elections) (7)
- [Local services](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/services) (1)
- [Sources](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands/sources) (22)

The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/S12000023

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands#f-house-price-average.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.8, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23508850. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands