Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 1,861 people, this village lies in East Sussex, South East.
Safety is where it shines: 14.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 9.9 home and vehicle crimes. Buying the median home, at £380,000, takes 6.5 years of household income in the Wealden council area. Pupils here do less well than most: primary results beat 17% of towns in England; secondary results beat 14% of towns in England. The rest of its grades are middling: B for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Westham is graded subject by subject only.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Westham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Westham is graded subject by subject only.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Westham does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Westham’s built-up area.
9% 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 Westham.
Westham has a median age of 54.8. Just over one in ten residents are children under 15. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.1% of residents, below East Sussex’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Graduates make up 28% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Westham | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 36% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · East Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 8 primary schools within 3 km, 54% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The one school in town appears below. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 40.1, and 35% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 415 | B− |
The social rented sector houses 6% of households. Private renters make up just over one in ten households, below both East Sussex’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (21%). Also worth knowing: from September 2023 to August 2026, 77 homes sold inside Westham’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £380,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £427,500 | 38 |
| Semi-detached | £321,000 | 29 |
| Terraced | £338,750 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Just over half of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Reported offences in Westham came to 41 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 10.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over a third of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. The car took 87% of commuters, above both East Sussex’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (70%). Working from home was the norm for 25% of workers at the census. Work in town: 3% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Women here live to 84.3 on average and men to 82.1 (2019–23). 21% of residents have a disability, about level with East Sussex’s towns (20%) and above England’s towns (17%). Westham has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Westham | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 9%. Westham’s listed buildings include The Parish Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 70 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, near East Sussex’s towns (69) and higher than England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Westham. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritagePevensey Castle200 m outside town, to the east
CastleRedoubt Fortress4.3 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionEastbourne Miniature Steam Railway3.6 km outside town, to the southwestTheme parkTheme parkTreasure Island & Adventure Golf4 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumPolegate Windmill4.6 km outside town, to the westTheme parkTheme parkFort Fun3.4 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Village in East Sussex, England
Westham is a built-up area of 1,861 people, in the Wealden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westham | 1,861 | — | — | C− | B+ | B |
| Stone Cross | 5,036 | 1 | C | C− | B− | B |
| Pevensey Bay | 2,890 | 1.6 | C | C | A− | B− |
| Crumbles | 3,056 | 1.7 | C+ | D− | A | B |
| Eastbourne | 99,171 | 2.7 | D− | D− | D | C |
| Polegate | 10,067 | 3 | C | C | B | C |
| Lower Willingdon | 6,126 | 3.1 | B− | C− | A− | A− |
| Hailsham | 22,560 | 4.3 | D | C | C+ | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is The Parish Church of St Mary.
GCSE results trail 86% of towns in England, and primary results trail 83% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by East Sussex council.
Band D council tax in Westham is £2,639 for 2026–27, more than in 91% 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.
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.