Southfields’s story
No listed buildings inside Southfields’s built-up area
5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →SouthfieldsEssex
A village of 1,167 in Essex, East of England. 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Population
1,167
Census 2021 · Thurrock council
Median home
£420K
51 sales in 3 years
Median age
38.8
11% are 65+ · Essex 20%
Degree level
30%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
9%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Southfields a good place to live?
Southfields has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A+): mean household income £66,912; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £420,000, 7.2 years of area income; rent £1,380 a month.
What makes Southfields stand out
The 3 things Southfields does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
9% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
Only 11% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
Median sale, £ thousands
Housing
1.5 times the typical UK town’s £277K
Standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026.
How Southfields grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Southfields is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Jobs & incomeA+Open →Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →Cost of livingC−Open →WalkabilityC−Open →HealthLife expectancy 81.8 for men, 83.9 for womenA−Open →SafetyA−Open →SchoolsPrimary results beat 75% of towns in England; secondary results beat 31% of towns in EnglandB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
History0 listed buildingsD−Open →Outdoors0% live within 400 m of a park; 2.8 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsC−Open →Civic life0.9 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryDOpen →
How TownRatings grades towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Southfields.
History
Southfields has fewer old homes than Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 5% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list has no building inside Southfields’s built-up area.
0listed buildingsD−History Grade
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II0
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
5%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
0
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C−
More households own their home in Southfields than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 86%
13% rent privately, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Behind the median of £420,000: 51 standard sales inside Southfields’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
£420Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Southfields£420K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £502,500 | 24 |
| Semi-detached | £400,500 | 10 |
| Terraced | £337,500 | 16 |
86%
of households own their home · England 61%
13%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,380
average private rent a month, Thurrock council area
£2,255
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A+
Commuters in Southfields travel far: only 17% go under 5 km, fewer than in Essex’s towns or England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 1 jobs in Southfields for each resident in work. 86% of commuters drove, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%).
9%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving86%
Train5%
On foot2%
Underground, tram1%
Bus1%
17%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
£67K
mean household income, before tax
1.5%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C−
Walkability: more walkable than 17% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
Is Southfields a healthy place? 91% of its people say their health is good, above Essex’s towns and England’s towns
1.2% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below both Essex’s towns (4.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Disability touches 7% of Southfields’ population. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.1 miles away.
91%good or very good healthA−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 91%Fair 7%Bad or very bad 1%
| Census 2021 | Southfields | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 91% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.2% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 7% | 17% | 17% |
81.8
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
83.9
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Safety
Violence is recorded less often in Southfields than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 12.3 per 1,000 residents a year
Police recorded 22 crimes inside Southfields’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 3 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 2.3 reports per 1,000, below Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 50% of the total.
12.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearA−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 58% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual11
Vehicle crime3
Damage & arson2
Other theft2
Other crime2
Public order1
Burglary1
Shoplifting0
Anti-social3
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.
12.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
2.3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
22
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
Who lives here
Southfields has fewer older residents than Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 11% are 65 or over
Southfields has a median age of 38.8 years. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Essex’s towns (18%) and close to England’s towns (18%). 30% of adults hold a degree.
38.8median age
SouthfieldsEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
12%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications13%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar20%
Degree level30%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Southfields | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 11% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Coalhouse Fort and 2 more in and around Southfields
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Southfields. Best known first.
FortCoalhouse Fort5 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumThurrock Museum4.8 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumEssex Fire Museum4.4 km outside town, to the westPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Coalhouse Fort: The original uploader was Sue Wallace at English Wikipedia., CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Southfields
14pages on Southfields
The big questions
SafetyA−12.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingC−Median home £420K · rent £1,380 a monthHousing15 sold in 12 months · busiest street Hemley RoadSchoolsB−HealthA−Life expectancy 81.8 (men), 83.9 (women)Work & commuteA+48% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Southfields’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
OrsettHorndon on the HillChadwell St MaryEast TilburyStanford-le-HopeGraysTilburySouthfields
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southfields | 1,167 | — | — | C− | A− | A− |
| Orsett | 1,428 | 1 | — | D | C | B+ |
| Horndon on the Hill | 1,510 | 1.4 | — | D | A− | B+ |
| Chadwell St Mary | 10,680 | 1.6 | C− | C | D | D |
| East Tilbury | 5,751 | 1.9 | C− | C | C− | C |
| Stanford-le-Hope | 29,527 | 2.4 | C+ | C | C+ | C+ |
| Grays | 44,340 | 2.9 | C+ | C | C− | C |
| Tilbury | 14,187 | 3.1 | C− | C+ | D− | D |
Orsett and Horndon on the Hill have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Southfields
Is Southfields safe?
Against all UK towns, it grades A−.
Is Southfields expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £420,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £337,500, semi-detached houses £400,500 and detached houses £502,500.
About Southfields
Village in Essex, England
Southfields is a built-up area of 1,167 people, in the Thurrock 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
- Population
- 1,167 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Thurrock
- County
- Essex
- Region
- East of England
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
- ONS code
- E63004907
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.