Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,193 in Devon, South West.
Topsham grades B overall against UK towns: better than 60% of UK towns, and #8 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 32% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £530,000, 9.8 years of area income; rent £1,318 a month.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Topsham 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 Topsham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 216 buildings inside Topsham’s built-up area, 16 of them Grade II*.
25% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Topsham, Maine, is named after Topsham.
USUS editionTopsham, Maine, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Topsham. Best known first.
MuseumTopsham Museumin town
CathedralExeter Cathedral4.6 km outside town, to the northwest
CastlePowderham Castle3.8 km outside town, to the south
MuseumRoyal Albert Memorial Museum4.9 km outside town, to the northwest · 340K visitors a year (2012)
CastleRougemont Castle4.9 km outside town, to the northwest
Theme parkCrealy Adventure Park3.7 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Topsham.
For Topsham, that is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Children are 11% of the town. The median resident of Topsham is 55 years old.
55% women, 45% men
About 83 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.
| Topsham | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 37% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 49% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Topsham SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 189 | C |
Topsham sits above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. 8% of households live in social housing. Topsham is the most expensive of the 47 towns in Devon: its median sale is £530,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £750,000 | 128 |
| Semi-detached | £485,000 | 83 |
| Terraced | £422,500 | 80 |
| Flat or maisonette | £280,000 | 58 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Topsham above both Devon’s towns (104) and England’s towns (39). Topsham has 216 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 16 Grade II*. 25% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
66% of commuters drove, below both Devon’s towns (73%) and England’s towns (70%). 38% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Women here live to 86.7 on average and men to 82.1 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; 80% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 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 | Topsham | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Police recorded 210 crimes inside Topsham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 28 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 45% 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
216 listed buildings in Topsham.
Broadway House: Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Clara Place: Photo: Robin Drayton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Warehouse Between Nos 3 and 4: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Passage Inn: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
7 notable people were born in Topsham.
Gilbert Thomas Carter: Scan by the contributor of photo (Duncanogi at en.wikipedia) by his now-deceased mother Doris Ogilvie, Public domain · William Webb Follett: Martin Archer Shee, Public domain · George Warren: Colesworthey Grant (died 1880), Public domain · Julian Piper: Lucy Piper, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topsham | 4,193 | — | B | D− | B− | A− |
| Exminster | 4,388 | 1.3 | B+ | C− | A− | B |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 1.6 | — | C− | A− | A+ |
| Exton | 1,287 | 2.1 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 3.1 | — | C | B | A |
| Lympstone | 1,838 | 3.1 | — | C− | A− | A |
| Exeter | 126,181 | 3.2 | C | C− | D | C+ |
| Clyst Honiton | 1,030 | 3.4 | — | B− | D− | A− |
Clyst St Mary, Exton, Woodbury, Lympstone and Clyst Honiton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 21.1 times the typical UK town for its size.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £530,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £280,000, terraced houses £422,500, semi-detached houses £485,000 and detached houses £750,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Devon, England
Topsham is a built-up area of 4,193 people, in the Exeter 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.