Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,548 residents make their home in this town in Essex, East of England. 15% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Overall, Southminster earns a C−, better than nearly a quarter of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #67 of 81 in Essex. Its weakest is schools — primary results beat 8% of towns in England; secondary results beat 4% of towns in England. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: homes sell for a median £325,000, about 5.4 times local household income.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Southminster 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 Southminster is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 20 buildings inside Southminster’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1900.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Southminster.
The under-15s are 17% of the population here. Southminster has a median age of 43.1. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Southminster | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The one school in town appears below. Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 50% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town’s primary school has 258 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Leonard's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 258 | D− |
One GP practice serves the town; just over nine in ten patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Four fifths of Southminster’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, lower than both Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). Women here live to 82.1 on average and men to 78.4 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Southminster is Southend University Hospital, 9.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Southminster | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
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.
Households that own their home make up 72%. The £325,000 median rests on 183 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £1,139 a month across the Maldon council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £410,000 | 65 |
| Semi-detached | £315,000 | 76 |
| Terraced | £292,500 | 24 |
| Flat or maisonette | £144,375 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Homes saw 7.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Essex’s towns (10.6) and England’s towns (9.4). A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 225 offences in Southminster and 25 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for nearly two thirds of recorded crime.
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 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Of the commuters living in Southminster, 12% work in the town itself. 83% of commuters drove, above Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Unemployment benefit claims reached 3.2% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. 14% of its homes were built before 1919, between Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Southminster. Best known first.
MuseumMangapp's Farm1.6 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseCreeksea Place3.7 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumBurnham-on-Crouch and District Museum3.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
20 listed buildings in Southminster.
Church of St Leonard: Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Station Arms Public House: Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Southminster former police station and associated coach house: Photo: Peter Whatley · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · 2, North End: Photo: Roger Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southminster | 4,548 | — | C− | B+ | C+ | C |
| Burnham-on-Crouch | 7,806 | 2.3 | B | B | C | B |
| Mayland | 3,740 | 3.3 | C+ | C+ | B | B |
| Ramsey Island | 1,139 | 3.7 | — | B− | A− | C+ |
| Latchingdon | 1,140 | 4.4 | — | B− | C− | B− |
| Canewdon | 1,216 | 4.9 | — | B− | A− | C− |
| Tollesbury | 2,811 | 6.6 | A− | B | A | A− |
| Cold Norton | 1,161 | 6.7 | — | C | A | B+ |
Ramsey Island, Latchingdon, Canewdon and Cold Norton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About the middle for its size: 62% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 1 report in the year.
Town in Essex, England
Southminster is a built-up area of 4,548 people, in the Maldon 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.