Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,643 in Devon, South West.
South Brent grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 46% of UK towns, and #17 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is health (B+): life expectancy 81.4 for men, 85.5 for women. Its weakest is schools (D−): primary results beat 2% of towns in England. The median home sold for £290,000 in the last three years, 5.4 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 South Brent 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 South Brent is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside South Brent’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in South Brent.
That puts South Brent above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. The median resident of South Brent is 53.2 years old.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
| South Brent | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Brent Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 163 | D |
On this, South Brent is above both Devon’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 85.5 on average and men to 81.4 (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 | South Brent | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 25% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, South Brent comes below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 81% of commuters at the census.
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.
South Brent has 12 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*. 26% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Police recorded 109 crimes inside South Brent’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 14 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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 South Brent, that is below both Devon’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). Owners make up 68% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £415,000 | 32 |
| Semi-detached | £287,500 | 19 |
| Terraced | £245,000 | 37 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
12 listed buildings in South Brent, 1 of them Grade I.
Brent Mill Bridge: Photo: Adrian Platt · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anchor Hotel: Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Brent | 2,643 | — | B− | B− | B− | B+ |
| Buckfastleigh | 2,720 | 4.3 | C− | B | C− | C+ |
| Ivybridge | 12,485 | 4.7 | A− | C+ | B− | B+ |
| Modbury | 1,687 | 5.9 | — | C− | A | A |
| Totnes | 9,217 | 6.4 | C+ | C− | C | C+ |
| Loddiswell | 1,032 | 7.2 | — | B− | B | A |
| Ashburton | 3,368 | 7.3 | C+ | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Stoke Gabriel | 1,340 | 9.2 | — | C− | A | A |
Modbury, Loddiswell and Stoke Gabriel have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Devon council.
That is 1.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Petrock.
Town in Devon, England
South Brent is a built-up area of 2,643 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.
