Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,260 in Devon, South West.
Dartmouth grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 17% of UK towns, and #36 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 35% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 13% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £340,000 in the last three years, 6.3 times what households in the South Hams 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 Dartmouth 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 Dartmouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 250 buildings inside Dartmouth’s built-up area, 7 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
39% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1890.
Dartmouth, Massachusetts, is named after Dartmouth.
USUS editionDartmouth, Massachusetts, settled in 1650, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dartmouth. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageBayard's Cove Fortin town
MuseumDartmouth Museumin town
Castle · English HeritageDartmouth Castle500 m outside town, to the southeast
Historic house · National TrustGreenway House2.5 km outside town, to the north
CastleKingswear Castle900 m outside town, to the southeast
Historic house · National TrustNational Trust - Coleton Fishacre2.7 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dartmouth.
That puts Dartmouth below both Devon’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). 32% of residents are 65 or over. Dartmouth has a median age of 54.3.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Dartmouth | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.4% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, DartmouthLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 76 | D− |
| Dartmouth AcademyLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 435 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Dartmouth has 475 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above both Devon’s towns (104) and England’s towns (39). Dartmouth’s listed buildings include Bearscove Castle, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
61% of commuters drove, below both Devon’s towns (73%) and England’s towns (70%). For 53% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
On this, Dartmouth is above both Devon’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £680,000 | 53 |
| Semi-detached | £318,000 | 39 |
| Terraced | £325,000 | 111 |
| Flat or maisonette | £240,000 | 86 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the comparison, Dartmouth comes above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 324 crimes inside Dartmouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 32 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 50% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
For Dartmouth, that is above both Devon’s towns (5.9%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Women here live to 85.7 on average and men to 81.5 (2019–23). These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Dartmouth | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.9% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
250 listed buildings in Dartmouth, 7 of them Grade I.
Bearscove Castle: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Church of St Saviour: Photo: Jim Linwood · CC BY 2.0 · The Butterwalk: Photo: Herbythyme · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Warehouse at Sx 8780 5155, Western Warehouse of Hawke and Sons: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
15 notable people were born in Dartmouth.
Rachel Kempson: Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 · William Pascoe Crook: Unknown authorUnknown author; David Scott, photographer of print, Public domain · Thomas Lipson: John Hood, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth | 5,260 | — | C− | C− | C+ | B |
| Stoke Gabriel | 1,340 | 4.1 | — | C− | A | A |
| Brixham | 17,839 | 4.2 | C | D− | C+ | C |
| Paignton | 67,509 | 6.5 | D | D− | C− | C |
| Totnes | 9,217 | 7 | C+ | C− | C | C+ |
| Chillington | 1,074 | 7.1 | — | C | A+ | A+ |
| Marldon | 2,073 | 7.3 | — | C | A | A |
| Torquay | 52,034 | 9.3 | D− | D | D− | C− |
Stoke Gabriel, Chillington and Marldon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 19.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bearscove Castle. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
GCSE results trail 82% of towns in England, and primary results trail 96% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Dartmouth has 2 state schools; places are handled by Devon council.
Town in Devon, England
Dartmouth is a built-up area of 5,260 people, in the South Hams 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.