Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
69% of households own their home outright. The town has 6,763 residents and lies in Hampshire, South East.
Barton on Sea’s best grade is for safety — police record 9.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 5 home and vehicle crimes. With a B+ overall, Barton on Sea is better than nearly three quarters of UK towns. The ranking puts it #40 of 76 in Hampshire. Health is a strength too (A−) — men here can expect to live to 82.2, women to 84.7. Housing is expensive: homes sell for a median £500,000, about 8.8 times local household income. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools, B− for walkability and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Barton on Sea 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 Barton on Sea is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Barton on Sea’s built-up area.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barton on Sea.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 5.5% of the population. Children under 15 make up 7%, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Graduates make up 31% of adults.
54% women, 46% men
About 85 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.
| Barton on Sea | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 7% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 5.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 11% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 51% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.3% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
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 5% of the total. Barton on Sea has 4 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Barton on Sea logged 147 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 11 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences made up 43% of the total. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 2.1 reports per 1,000, below both Hampshire’s towns (5.4) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
9% rent privately, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%). Social housing holds 2% of households. The £500,000 median rests on 362 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £585,000 | 245 |
| Semi-detached | £405,000 | 26 |
| Terraced | £335,000 | 27 |
| Flat or maisonette | £277,500 | 64 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Men in Barton on Sea can expect to live to 82.2, women to 84.7 (2019–23). Asked at the census, 77% of residents of Barton on Sea said they were in good or very good health. 5.7% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above both Hampshire’s towns (4.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 1.1 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Barton on Sea | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £50K a year before tax, below Hampshire’s towns (£67K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. At the census, 84% of commuters went by car. Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Barton on Sea, 6% work in the town itself. 38% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Barton on Sea. Best known first.
CastleHighcliffe Castle1.6 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseHinton Admiral2.2 km outside town, to the west
MuseumSammy Miller Museum2.1 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
4 notable people were born in Barton on Sea.
Jamie Redknapp: Will Palmer from Leeds, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barton on Sea | 6,763 | — | B+ | D | A | A− |
| New Milton | 11,872 | 0.9 | C | C | C− | C+ |
| Ashley | 7,730 | 1.8 | C+ | C− | B | B |
| Hordle | 1,158 | 2.4 | — | D | A | A |
| Milford on Sea | 4,364 | 3.3 | A | D | A− | A+ |
| Everton | 1,615 | 3.3 | — | D | A+ | A+ |
| Christchurch | 48,973 | 3.9 | B− | D− | B | B |
| Sway | 2,437 | 4.1 | — | D | B | A |
Hordle, Everton and Sway have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £500,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £277,500, terraced houses £335,000, semi-detached houses £405,000 and detached houses £585,000.
Town in Hampshire, England
Barton on Sea is a built-up area of 6,763 people, in the New Forest 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.