Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 938 people, this village lies in Gloucestershire, South West.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Southam is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. 4% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Homes sell for a median £745,000. It has 15 listed buildings, 0 of them Grade I.
The 3 things Southam does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Southam’s built-up area.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Southam. Best known first.
CastleSudeley Castle4.1 km outside town, to the east
MuseumThe Wilson3.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWinchcombe Museum3.7 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumBritish Steeplechasing Hall of Fame1.6 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric siteHistoric site · English HeritageBelas Knap Long Barrow3.5 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumThe Bugatti Trust Museum & Study Centre2.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Southam.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 53% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £64K a year, before tax. 25% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below Gloucestershire’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. Home was the main workplace for 53% of workers at the census. Of the commuters living in Southam, 1% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Council and housing-body homes hold 1% of households. 11% rent privately, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £1,093 a month across the Tewkesbury council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £765,000 | 21 |
| Semi-detached | £605,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 35% of the total. Reported offences in Southam came to 17 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 1. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 5.3 reports per 1,000, below Gloucestershire’s towns (9.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Seeing a GP means leaving Southam: the nearest practice is 1.7 miles away. 86% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Gloucestershire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.4% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Southam | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 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.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 21%. Southam counts 15 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 4 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
People 65 and over make up 31% of the town, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). One measure of family life: 15% of residents are under 15. Half the people of Southam are older than 53.9. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.6% of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Southam | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.2% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.5% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 51% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southam | 938 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bishop's Cleeve | 16,323 | 1.5 | A | B+ | B | A− |
| Prestbury | 4,078 | 1.8 | A | D | A | A+ |
| Gotherington | 1,131 | 2.1 | — | C+ | A | A |
| Winchcombe | 4,339 | 2.9 | A− | B− | A− | A |
| Cheltenham | 115,941 | 3.7 | B− | C | C− | B− |
| Ashchurch | 1,102 | 5.2 | — | B+ | A | B |
| Northway | 4,858 | 5.9 | B+ | A | C+ | C+ |
Gotherington and Ashchurch have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
By type: semi-detached houses £605,000 and detached houses £765,000.
That is 6.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
Band D council tax in Southam is £2,288 for 2026–27, less than in 77% 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.
Village in Gloucestershire, England
Southam is a built-up area of 938 people, in the Tewkesbury 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.