Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 35,502 in Devon, South West.
Exmouth grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #28 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 24% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 9.8% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £325,000 in the last three years, 6.1 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 Exmouth 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 Exmouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 117 buildings inside Exmouth’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
22% 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 1850.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Exmouth. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustA la Rondein town
MuseumExmouth Museumin town
MuseumWorld of Country Lifein town
CastlePowderham Castle3.2 km outside town, to the west
MuseumBicton Park botanical garden4.9 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumFairlynch Musuem2.9 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 Exmouth.
Exmouth sits above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9% of residents. Half the people of Exmouth are older than 50.3.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Exmouth | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withycombe Raleigh Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 611 | B− |
| Exmouth Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 2,031 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
47% of commuters travelled under 5 km, close to both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). The average household earns £51K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Exmouth has 117 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. 22% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
That puts Exmouth above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 1,963 crimes inside Exmouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 278 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 52% 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
On this, Exmouth is above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). 11% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £465,000 | 483 |
| Semi-detached | £340,000 | 391 |
| Terraced | £267,250 | 344 |
| Flat or maisonette | £215,000 | 449 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
80% of Exmouth’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 80% across Devon’s towns. 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 | Exmouth | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
117 listed buildings in Exmouth, 1 of them Grade I.
A la Ronde: Photo: Becks · CC BY 2.0 · Parish Church of the Holy Trinity: Photo: Sarah Charlesworth · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Barn: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Manor Hotel: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
23 notable people were born in Exmouth.
Pauline Collins: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · William Tidball: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hugh Seymour Davies: Unknown. Photograph from the Hugh Davies Collection at the Science Museum, London., CC BY 3.0 · James Grigg: Walter Stoneman, Public domain · Katrina Matthews: TurbulentMatter666, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pearl Carr: Joop van Bilsen for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exmouth | 35,502 | — | C | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Lympstone | 1,838 | 1.9 | — | C− | A− | A |
| Starcross | 1,687 | 2.2 | — | B | B− | B− |
| Exton | 1,287 | 2.9 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Dawlish Warren | 1,191 | 3.1 | — | C | D | B− |
| Budleigh Salterton | 5,237 | 3.2 | B | C− | A | A− |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 3.2 | — | C | B | A |
| Dawlish | 11,800 | 4.3 | C− | B− | C− | C+ |
Lympstone, Starcross, Exton, Dawlish Warren and Woodbury 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.
GCSE results trail 85% of towns in England, and primary results trail 84% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About the middle for its size: 38% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
Large town in Devon, England
Exmouth is a built-up area of 35,502 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.