Real strengths, and real weak spots. Its lowest grade is for safety: 48.3 violent and sexual offences and 17.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 65%. Taken together, its subjects give Southend-on-Sea a C overall, better than a third of UK towns. The ranking puts it #62 of 81 in Essex. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: on the way to work, 32% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Homes sell for a median £340,000, about 6.1 years of what households in the Southend-on-Sea council area earn. School results are strong (A−): primary results beat 55% of towns in England; secondary results beat 85% of towns in England.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Southend-on-Sea is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Southend-on-Sea.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
4.3% of 16 to 64s in Southend-on-Sea claim unemployment benefits, more than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
32%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car carried 65% of commuters at the census. About 60% of its commuters stay in Southend-on-Sea for work. Each working resident is matched by 0.8 jobs in the town. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 56%, higher than both Essex’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA−
School results in Southend-on-Sea are better than in 75% of towns in England
A−School Grade
Between them, 33 primaries and 12 secondaries teach 30,397 pupils in Southend-on-Sea. Barons Court Primary School and Nursery’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 52 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the town’s 12 secondary schools: 56% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 53.3.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 52 schools →
Safety
Southend-on-Sea records more crime per resident than nine in ten UK towns
48.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Over the year to August 2026, 18,645 offences were reported in Southend-on-Sea, along with 2,550 incidents of anti-social behaviour. There were 11.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 48% of recorded crime.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 35% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual8,903
Shoplifting1,932
Damage & arson1,347
Public order1,329
Other theft1,233
Vehicle crime1,049
Drugs1,010
Burglary634
Anti-social2,550
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.
48.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
17.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Health
Southend-on-Sea’s life expectancy trails 76% of UK towns
81%good or very good healthC−Health Grade
23 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 81% of Southend-on-Sea’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Essex’s towns (83%) and close to England’s towns (82%). A disability affects 18% of people in the town.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
HousingCost of living grade C
Private renting is more common in Southend-on-Sea than in Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 26% of households
£340Kmedian sale
Social housing holds 11% of households, below Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,306 a month across the Southend-on-Sea council area. The £340,000 median rests on 6,659 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Southend-on-Sea£340K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£560,000
1,107
Semi-detached
£400,000
2,090
Terraced
£328,500
1,366
Flat or maisonette
£220,000
2,096
62%
of households own their home · England 61%
26%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,306
average private rent a month, Southend-on-Sea council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
A town of 100 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I
100listed buildingsBHistory Grade
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 27% of the total, higher than both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). Southend-on-Sea’s listed buildings include the Church of St Laurence and All Saints, Grade I. The national list protects 3 ancient monuments in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for England
41.8median age
27% of adults hold a degree, close to Essex’s towns (27%) and below England’s towns (34%). Residents of Southend-on-Sea have a median age of 41.8. People aged 15 to 24 make up 10% of the town.
Southend-on-SeaEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
19%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications20%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level27%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Nathalie Emmanuel: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cameron Carter-Vickers: US Embassy from New Zealand, Public domain · Lara Pulver: Tara Matthews, CC BY 3.0 · Maajid Nawaz: eregis, CC BY 2.0 · Rupert Keegan: Original: Martin Lee from London, UK / Derivative work: Danyele, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Michael Wilding: Trailer screenshot, Public domain
About Southend-on-Sea
City in Essex, England
Southend-on-Sea is a built-up area of 182,295 people, in the Southend-on-Sea 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.
Canewdon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Southend-on-Sea
How many listed buildings are there in Southend-on-Sea?
Its Grade I buildings include Prittlewell Priory. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Is Southend-on-Sea safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Are schools in Southend-on-Sea good?
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 85% of towns in England. Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 55%.
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.
