Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,237 in Devon, South West. 46% of residents are 65 or over.
Budleigh Salterton grades B overall against UK towns: better than 55% of UK towns, and #10 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is safety (A): 13.1 violent and sexual offences and 5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is schools (D): primary results beat 14% of towns in England. The median home sold for £423,750 in the last three years, 7.9 times what households in the East Devon council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Budleigh Salterton does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Budleigh Salterton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 37 buildings inside Budleigh Salterton’s built-up area.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Budleigh Salterton. Best known first.
MuseumFairlynch Musuemin town
Historic house · National TrustA la Ronde4.1 km outside town, to the west
MuseumBicton Park botanical garden3.4 km outside town, to the north
MuseumWorld of Country Life1.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumExmouth Museum4.3 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionOtterton Mill2.5 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Budleigh Salterton.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 6.6% of the population. People 65 and over make up 46% of the town, higher than both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of Budleigh Salterton is older than 62, half younger. Degrees are held by just over two in five adults.
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Budleigh Salterton | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.6% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 46% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 7 primary schools within 3 km, 53% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 301 | C |
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 58% of recorded crime. Over the year to August 2026, 119 offences were reported in Budleigh Salterton, along with 15 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Budleigh Salterton has less crime per resident than 93% of them.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Women here live to 84.8 on average and men to 82.3 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Budleigh Salterton is Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford), 9.7 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 86% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Budleigh Salterton | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Social housing holds 9% of households, lower than both Devon’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Private renters make up 12% of households. Budleigh Salterton is the second most expensive of the 47 towns in Devon, at £423,750.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £776,000 | 85 |
| Semi-detached | £460,000 | 61 |
| Terraced | £322,500 | 60 |
| Flat or maisonette | £262,650 | 76 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Nearly a quarter of homes date from before 1919. For its size, Budleigh Salterton has 71 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, between Devon’s towns (107) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Walking, cycling and public transport carried 17% of commuters at the census. 1.9% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, lower than both Devon’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Driving is how four in five commuters got to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
37 listed buildings in Budleigh Salterton.
Clyst Hayes Farmhouse: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Ivy Bank: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · The Cottages: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Lion House: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budleigh Salterton | 5,237 | — | B | C− | A | A− |
| Exmouth | 35,502 | 3.2 | C | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 4.2 | — | C | B | A |
| Lympstone | 1,838 | 4.4 | — | C− | A− | A |
| Newton Poppleford | 1,918 | 4.5 | — | C+ | B− | A− |
| Exton | 1,287 | 5.1 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Starcross | 1,687 | 5.3 | — | B | B− | B− |
| Sidmouth | 13,258 | 5.5 | B | C− | B | A |
Woodbury, Lympstone, Newton Poppleford, Exton and Starcross have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.9 times the typical UK town for its size.
Primary results trail 86% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Devon council.
Town in Devon, England
Budleigh Salterton is a built-up area of 5,237 people, in the East Devon council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.