Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 23,195 people live in this large town, in Hampshire, South East.
A strong record with one exception. Work and incomes are strong (A): the mean household earns £67,719 a year. It is strong on cost of living as well (B+): a typical home costs £340,000 and rent runs £1,214 a month. The trade-off is walkability (C): just over one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, ranking #26 of 76 in Hampshire. That leaves it better than 90% of UK towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 2 things Hedge End 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 Hedge End is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Hedge End’s built-up area.
2% 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 Hedge End. Best known first.
CastleNetley Castle4.2 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBursledon Windmill500 m outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumEastleigh Museum4.9 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionWickham Vineyard3.8 km outside town, to the eastFortFortNetley Abbey4 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumBursledon Brickworks1.4 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hedge End.
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 2% of the total, below both Hampshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 46.6, with 45% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Berrywood Primary School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 5 primary schools, 69% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berrywood Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 631 | A− |
| Wildern SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,674 | B− |
| Shamblehurst Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 404 | A− |
14% of households rent privately. Social housing holds 8% of households, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 1,004 homes sold inside Hedge End’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £340,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £455,575 | 338 |
| Semi-detached | £340,000 | 260 |
| Terraced | £280,000 | 277 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,000 | 129 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
87% of Hedge End’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). A disability affects 14% of people in the town. There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 2 miles off. Life expectancy here is 84.9 for women and 81.5 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Hedge End | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For a third of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Hedge End counts 0.7 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
1,227 crimes and 201 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Hedge End’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 35% of the crimes. Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 8.2 per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
People 65 and over make up 17% of the town, below both Hampshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 10% of the town. Line up the people of Hedge End by age and the one in the middle is 40.3.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hedge End | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedge End | 23,195 | — | A | B+ | B | B+ |
| Botley | 5,900 | 1.3 | B | B− | C− | B+ |
| West End | 10,865 | 1.8 | B+ | A− | C+ | B+ |
| Bursledon | 8,072 | 2.1 | C+ | A− | C− | C+ |
| Horton Heath | 3,047 | 2.3 | A+ | B | A | A |
| Whiteley | 9,350 | 3.1 | A− | B | C+ | A |
| Netley | 6,309 | 3.5 | C+ | B+ | C | C |
| Southampton | 249,633 | 4 | D | C | D− | C− |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 84% of towns in England. Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 53%.
Band D council tax in Hedge End is £2,352 for 2026–27, less than in 66% 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.
Large town in Hampshire, England
Hedge End is a built-up area of 23,195 people, in the Eastleigh 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.