Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,388 in Devon, South West.
Exminster grades B+ overall against UK towns: better than 67% of UK towns, and #5 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is safety (A−): 16.8 violent and sexual offences and 5.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £345,000, 6.6 years of area income; rent £961 a month.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The thing Exminster 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 Exminster is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Exminster’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1828.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Exminster. Best known first.
CathedralExeter Cathedral4.5 km outside town, to the northwest
CastlePowderham Castle3.6 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumRoyal Albert Memorial Museum4.8 km outside town, to the northwest · 340K visitors a year (2012)
CastleRougemont Castle4.9 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumTopsham Museum1.7 km outside town, to the east
Abbey or priorySt Nicholas Priory4.5 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Exminster.
Homes saw 5.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below both Devon’s towns (7.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 136 crimes inside Exminster’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 21 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 58% 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
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exminster Community PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 388 | B+ |
Exminster sits above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. 10% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £450,000 | 61 |
| Semi-detached | £338,500 | 40 |
| Terraced | £280,000 | 50 |
| Flat or maisonette | £225,000 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Exminster below both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (27%). The car carried 82% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
On this, Exminster is above both Devon’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Exminster has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.5 miles away. 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 | Exminster | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Exminster has 21 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 15% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Exminster comes above both Devon’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 8.1% of residents. Half the people of Exminster are older than 42.2.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Exminster | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
21 listed buildings in Exminster, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Martin: Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former Exe Vale Hospital: Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Almshouses: Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Priest's House: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
4 notable people were born in Exminster.
William Courtenay: Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Phil Beer: Paul Hudson, CC BY 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exminster | 4,388 | — | B+ | C− | A− | B |
| Topsham | 4,193 | 1.3 | B | D− | B− | A− |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 2.8 | — | C− | A− | A+ |
| Exton | 1,287 | 2.8 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Exeter | 126,181 | 3.2 | C | C− | D | C+ |
| Lympstone | 1,838 | 3.7 | — | C− | A− | A |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 4.2 | — | C | B | A |
| Starcross | 1,687 | 4.2 | — | B | B− | B− |
Clyst St Mary, Exton, Lympstone, Woodbury and Starcross have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Exminster is £2,604 for 2026–27, more than in 86% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £345,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £225,000, terraced houses £280,000, semi-detached houses £338,500 and detached houses £450,000.
Town in Devon, England
Exminster is a built-up area of 4,388 people, in the Teignbridge 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.