Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 13,258 in Devon, South West.
Sidmouth grades B overall against UK towns: better than 65% of UK towns, and #6 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 25% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 4.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £415,000 in the last three years, 7.8 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 Sidmouth 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 Sidmouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 233 buildings inside Sidmouth’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
23% 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 1840 and a map from 1879.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sidmouth.
For Sidmouth, that is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 make up 11% of residents. Sidmouth has a median age of 60.4.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
| Sidmouth | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 43% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidmouth Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 448 | B− |
| Sidmouth CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 825 | B |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sidmouth sits above both Devon’s towns (104) and England’s towns (39) on this measure. Sidmouth’s listed buildings include Royal Glen Hotel, Grade I. Sidmouth has 233 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 10 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 42%, below Devon’s towns (51%) and close to England’s towns (45%). Household income averages £49K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Women here live to 85.6 on average and men to 84.1 (2019–23). At the census, 22% of people here had a disability, close to Devon’s towns (21%) and above England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Sidmouth is Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford), 11.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Sidmouth | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
That puts Sidmouth above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). 13% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £622,500 | 312 |
| Semi-detached | £380,000 | 111 |
| Terraced | £315,000 | 179 |
| Flat or maisonette | £290,000 | 193 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 595 crimes inside Sidmouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 76 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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sidmouth. Best known first.
MuseumSidmouth Museumin town
MuseumBicton Park botanical garden4.6 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumSidmouth Toy and Model Museumin townMuseumMuseumMuseum of Contemporary Artin townAttractionAttractionDonkey Sanctuary2 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionOtterton Mill3.9 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
233 listed buildings in Sidmouth, 2 of them Grade I.
Royal Glen Hotel: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · The Old Chancel: Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Beach House: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Clock Tower: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
16 notable people were born in Sidmouth.
William Saville-Kent: The photogravure is by Waterlow & Sons, the negative by Maull & Fox, Public domain · Bruce Hamilton: Dormskirk at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Francis Fulford: Photo: William Notman, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidmouth | 13,258 | — | B | C− | B | A |
| Newton Poppleford | 1,918 | 2.7 | — | C+ | B− | A− |
| Ottery St Mary | 6,043 | 4.4 | A− | C+ | B | A+ |
| West Hill | 2,109 | 4.6 | — | C− | A | A+ |
| Budleigh Salterton | 5,237 | 5.5 | B | C− | A | A− |
| Beer | 1,280 | 6.3 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Feniton | 1,725 | 6.8 | — | B | A+ | A |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 7.1 | — | C | B | A |
Newton Poppleford, West Hill, Beer, Feniton and Woodbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Royal Glen Hotel. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Devon, England
Sidmouth is a built-up area of 13,258 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.