West Sussex covers an area of 1,991 square kilometres (769 square miles), including over 55 miles of coastline, and over 50 per cent of the county lies within designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Features of the county include the Sussex Downs and the High Weald, historic towns such as Arundel, Petworth and Bosham, the cathedral city of Chichester, popular seaside resorts (eg Bognor Regis, Littlehampton), Chichester harbour (largest UK inland harbour), a wealth of gardens (eg Wakehurst Place, Nymans, Leonardslee, Sheffield Park), and a rich cultural heritage. It’s a popular destination for tourists and day visitors.

The county is strategically well placed, close to London and mainland Europe and with easy access to Gatwick Airport, the Channel Tunnel and the cross-channel ferry service at Newhaven.

The two counties of Sussex are both relatively affluent with high employment levels. West Sussex has a higher proportion of residents over the age of 85 years than regionally or nationally (particularly Arun and Worthing)  and there are pockets of relative deprivation in the county’s coastal areas (eg in Adur, Arun and Worthing districts) 

Local authorities in West Sussex include: West Sussex Council Council, Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid Sussex District Council and Worthing Borough Council.

The county’s economy is mainly based on the service sector (around 85 per cent of people in work in West Sussex are employed within this sector, slightly higher than the national average). There is also a high concentration of employment in transport and communications due to the presence in the county of Gatwick Airport (in Crawley, for example, almost one third of employees work in this sector).

In common with East Sussex, the West Sussex economy is characterised by a high number of small businesses (around 73 per cent of businesses employ up to four people; 86 per cent employ up to 10 people). Just over a fifth of employees work in small businesses while large firms (employing over 100 employees) are concentrated in a small part of the county (around one third of them located in Crawley).

There is a high level of managerial and professional occupations in West Sussex (higher than the national average) and the largest percentage of employment in public services is found in Worthing (due to location of West Sussex Primary Care Trust) and Chichester (where the county council is based).

See also West Sussex job searching.

In common with East Sussex, small businesses are the main feature of the West Sussex economy. However, over 100 major international companies are located in the county. These include: Ricardo (Shoreham - automobile engine R & D), Edwards (Crawley, Shoreham and Burgess Hill - manufacturer of vacuum pumps), Pyroban (Shoreham - flame protection of industrial vehicles and diesel engines), Body Shop International (Littlehampton - HQ), GlaxoSmith Kline (Worthing and Crawley - pharmaceuticals); Norwich Union (Worthing - financial services), American Express (Burgess Hill - financial services), Novartis (Horsham – pharmaceuticals, Virgin Atlantic (Crawley - airline),William Mercer (Chichester - employment and benefits consultants),Invensys Group (Bognor Regis - electronic components, Carte Blanche (Tangmere - Gifts & Cards).

Other major employers in the area include: Rolls-Royce Motorcars Ltd (Goodwood), The Body Shop International plc (Littlehampton), John Wiley & Sons Ltd (Bognor Regis and Chichester), Lloyds TSB Registrars Ltd (Worthing), Nature's Way Foods Ltd (Selsey), B&W Group Ltd (Worthing), Respironics UK Ltd (Chichester). A comprehensive list of non-retail companies in West Sussex employing over 100 people can be found on the West Sussex County Council website.

SEEDA’s Diamond Hub initiative (a grouping of businesses and business people, based around a permanent presence at the Basepoint Centre in Crawley) helps new and developing businesses - especially in advanced engineering, electronics and ICT - to grow successfully.

Tourism is important to the local economy. In 2006, for example, over 20 million visits were made to West Sussex with visitor expenditure contributing over £1.5 million to the county’s economy and sustaining over 32,000 jobs.

Major towns and employment and retail centres in West Sussex include Crawley and  Worthing (the two largest towns), Horsham , Littlehampton, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, East Grinstead.

The Higher education institution within the county is the University of Chichester

West Sussex job searching has links to dozens of job related websites.