Elections to Londonderry City Council were held on 20 May 1981 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections.

The election used five district electoral areas to elect a total of 27 councillors.

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

1977: 3 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP 1981: 3 x SDLP, 2 x DUP, 1 x UUP 1977-1981 Change: DUP gain from UUP 1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance 1981: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x SDLP 1977-1981 Change: DUP gain from Alliance 1977: 3 x SDLP, 2 x Nationalist 1981: 3 x SDLP, 2 x IIP 1977-1981 Change: Nationalists (two seats) join IIP 1977: 3 x SDLP, 1 x Nationalist, 1 x UUP 1981: 3 x SDLP, 1 x IIP, 1 x DUP 1977-1981 Change: DUP gain from UUP, Nationalist joins IIP 1977: 3 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Nationalist 1981: 4 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x IIP 1977-1981 Change: SDLP gain from Alliance, Nationalist joins IIP