Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Newhaven’s lowest grade is for safety: 51.1 violent and sexual offences and 18.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 87%. The town grades D overall, better than 7% of UK towns, and ranks #22 of 26 in East Sussex. It also trails on cost of living (D) — homes sell for a median £298,000, about 5.4 times local household income. Walkability is its strong suit (A): 28% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Newhaven is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Newhaven does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 26 buildings inside Newhaven’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →26 listed buildings in Newhaven.
Church of St Michael and All Angels: Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · Public domain · Church of St Leonard: Photo: Michael FORD · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Newhaven.
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.
41% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (53%) and England’s towns (45%). About 26% of its commuters stay in Newhaven for work. There are 1 jobs in Newhaven for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Secondary results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 40.3, with 35% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Breakwater Academy’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 4 primary schools, two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harbour Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 473 | A− |
| Seahaven AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 701 | C+ |
| Breakwater AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 144 | A |
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 45% of recorded crime. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 1,498 offences in Newhaven and 452 cases of nuisance behaviour. There were 24.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both East Sussex’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8).
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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Social housing holds 16% of households, above East Sussex’s towns (13%) but below England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,333 a month across the Lewes council area. Just over a fifth of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £361,000 | 85 |
| Semi-detached | £314,500 | 158 |
| Terraced | £277,000 | 165 |
| Flat or maisonette | £176,250 | 60 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Nearly a quarter of adults hold a degree, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (36%) and England’s towns (34%). Half the people of Newhaven are older than 40.6. People 65 and over make up 20% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Newhaven | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 36% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · East Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Asked at the census, 79% of residents of Newhaven said they were in good or very good health. At the census, 6.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above East Sussex’s towns (5.6%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. The nearest A&E to Newhaven is Royal Sussex County Hospital, 7.5 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 69% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Newhaven | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a quarter of the total, above both East Sussex’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 3 of them. Newhaven has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Newhaven. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustMonk's House3.8 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumNewhaven Fort100 m outside town, to the south
Historic houseFirle Place4.3 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumSeaford Museum (Martello Tower 74)3.3 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionSt Peter's3 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
15 notable people were born in Newhaven.
Wreckless Eric: Joe Mabel, CC BY 4.0 · Willie Quaife: George Beldam, Public domain · Timothy Webster: Chicago: Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, publisher, Public domain · Walter Quaife: Photo by E Hawkins, Brighton, Public domain
Town in East Sussex, England
Newhaven is a built-up area of 12,857 people, in the Lewes 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newhaven | 12,857 | — | D | D | D | C |
| Peacehaven | 15,705 | 2 | D | D | C+ | C |
| Telscombe Cliffs | 4,237 | 2.8 | C | D | B− | B− |
| Seaford | 23,865 | 2.8 | B− | D− | B+ | B− |
| East Saltdean | 2,892 | 3.4 | B | D− | A | B |
| Lewes | 16,066 | 6 | C+ | D− | C− | B |
| Ringmer | 3,221 | 6.7 | B | D− | B | A− |
| East Dean and Friston | 1,602 | 7.3 | — | D | A+ | A− |
East Dean and Friston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Newhaven is £2,808 for 2026–27, more than in 99% 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.
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Newhaven’s 12,857 residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
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.
