Newport grades D overall against UK towns: better than 8% of UK towns, and #26 of 38 in Gwent. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D−): 55.8 violent and sexual offences and 25.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 11%. The median home sold for £216,512 in the last three years, 4.7 times what households in the Newport council area earn in a year.
This town's Health Grade uses ONS's small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns' grades also use OHID's small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Newport is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Newport.
Safety
More crimes per resident in Newport than in 96% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
17,288 crimes and 3,731 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Newport’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Among the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Newport has more crime per resident than 89% of them. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 27.5 reports per 1,000, above Gwent’s towns (15) and Wales’s towns (10.4) alike. Violence and sexual offences were just over two fifths of the crimes.
55.8violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearD−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 11% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual7,108
Public order2,175
Shoplifting2,008
Damage & arson1,690
Other theft964
Vehicle crime941
Burglary749
Drugs529
Anti-social3,731
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.
55.8
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
25.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
27.5
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.
Schools
52 state schools in Newport
Three of them are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Newport’s 37 primaries and eight secondaries have 23,160 pupils between them.
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 52 schools →
Health
Life expectancy in Newport is shorter than in 88% of UK towns
14 GP practices serve the town. A disability affects a fifth of people in Newport. At the census, 79% of people in Newport called their health good or very good, above Gwent’s towns (77%) and close to Wales’s towns (78%).
79%good or very good healthDHealth Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 79%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 7%
Census 2021
Newport
Gwent
Wales
Good or very good health
79%
77%
78%
Bad or very bad health
7%
7.7%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
20%
22%
22%
76.8
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
80.9
life expectancy at birth, women
Welsh towns’ Health Grades use ONS’s small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns’ also use OHID’s small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, 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.
History
Newport has 226 listed buildings, 3 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Newport’s listed buildings include St Woolos' Cathedral, Grade I. Grade II* covers 5 of them, Grade I 3. It has 6 registered historic parks and gardens.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
5.3% of 16 to 64s in Newport claim unemployment benefits, more than in both Gwent’s towns and Wales’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.9. Work in town: 46% of resident commuters. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 49%, above Gwent’s towns (39%) and Wales’s towns (41%) alike. 78% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B−
Fewer households own their home in Newport than in Gwent’s towns or across Wales’s towns: 59%
18% rent privately, above Gwent’s towns (14%) and Wales’s towns (17%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 4,974 homes sold inside Newport’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £216,512. Private rents average £959 a month across the Newport council area.
£217Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Newport£217K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£350,000
895
Semi-detached
£242,000
1,712
Terraced
£175,600
1,845
Flat or maisonette
£130,000
522
59%
of households own their home · Wales 65%
18%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£959
average private rent a month, Newport council area
Michael Sheen: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter Greenaway: Sławek, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chris Gunter: Dan Goddard, who uploaded the image using the handle Dangoddardphoto on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Desmond Llewelyn: Towpilot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · James Collins: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tony Pulis: ifcs_media, CC BY 2.0
Ponthir and Underwood have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Newport
How many listed buildings are there in Newport?
226 on Cadw’s list, 3 of them Grade I and 5 Grade II*. Its Grade I buildings include St Woolos' Cathedral. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Does Newport flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
Is Newport expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £216,512, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £130,000, terraced houses £175,600, semi-detached houses £242,000 and detached houses £350,000.
About Newport
City in Gwent, Wales
Newport is a built-up area of 130,882 people, in the Newport 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
130,882 (Census 2021)
Council
Newport
County
Gwent
Region
Wales
Area
15.6 sq mi (40.4 km²)
ONS code
W45000557
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) · Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, 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.
