Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 29,650 in Devon, South West.
Newton Abbot grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #29 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 20% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (C−): 2.4% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £250,000 in the last three years, 4.8 times what households in the Teignbridge 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 2 things Newton Abbot 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 Newton Abbot is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 144 buildings inside Newton Abbot’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
24% 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 Newton Abbot. Best known first.
MuseumNewton Abbot Museumin town
Historic house · National TrustCompton Castle4.5 km outside town, to the south
Historic house · National TrustBradley Manor200 m outside town, to the southwest
Abbey or prioryThe Priory600 m outside town, to the south
FortDenbury Camp3 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionSt. Leonard's Towerin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Newton Abbot.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Newton Abbot has 144 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 3 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. 24% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Canada Hill Community Primary School’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Barton Primary School and Nursery UnitLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 467 | C |
| Newton Abbot CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,108 | C+ |
| Canada Hill Community Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 344 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
On this, Newton Abbot is above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 2,239 crimes inside Newton Abbot’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 312 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage come to 11.2 per 1,000 residents a year.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Newton Abbot comes above both Devon’s towns (73%) and England’s towns (70%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
81% of Newton Abbot’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 | Newton Abbot | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.4% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The median sale price was £250K, below both Devon’s towns (£308K) and England’s towns (£308K).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £371,000 | 350 |
| Semi-detached | £269,997 | 328 |
| Terraced | £214,000 | 465 |
| Flat or maisonette | £147,250 | 214 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
For Newton Abbot, that is below both Devon’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are 21% of the population. Half the people of Newton Abbot are older than 43.2.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Newton Abbot | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
144 listed buildings in Newton Abbot, 3 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin: Photo: Paul Hutchinson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Parish Church of All Saints: Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mackrells Almshouses: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Seymour House Tower 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Abbot | 29,650 | — | C | B− | C− | C+ |
| Abbotskerswell | 1,182 | 1.6 | — | C | A+ | B+ |
| Kingsteignton | 11,945 | 1.7 | B− | C+ | B | B− |
| Kingskerswell | 3,761 | 2.4 | B− | C | C+ | B |
| Denbury | 1,482 | 2.7 | — | C− | C | B |
| Ipplepen | 2,150 | 3.2 | — | C | A | A− |
| Heathfield | 1,496 | 3.3 | — | B | C | B− |
| Bishopsteignton | 2,271 | 3.3 | — | D | A | A |
Abbotskerswell, Denbury, Ipplepen, Heathfield and Bishopsteignton 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 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Forde House. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Newton Abbot is £2,699 for 2026–27, more than in 95% 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.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About the middle for its size: 64% 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−. Police recorded 2,239 crimes inside Newton Abbot’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 53% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Large town in Devon, England
Newton Abbot is a built-up area of 29,650 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.