More weak spots than strong ones. Its lowest grade is for safety — 53.5 violent and sexual offences and 16.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 28%. It is easy to get around without a car: on the way to work, 32% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Homes sell for a median £265,000, about 5 years of what households in the Portsmouth council area earn. Overall, that makes a D, good for #73 of 76 in Hampshire. Nationally, it does better than 8% of UK towns. Schools are weaker too (D): primary results beat 17% of towns in England; secondary results beat 15% of towns in England.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Portsmouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Portsmouth.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Benefit claims run higher in Portsmouth, 4.5% of 16 to 64s, than in Hampshire’s towns or across England’s towns
32%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 25% of workers, below both Hampshire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (31%). Portsmouth counts 1 jobs per working resident. About nearly two thirds of its commuters stay in Portsmouth for work. At the census, 63% of commuters went by car.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsD
Results at Portsmouth’s schools trail 89% of towns in England
DSchool Grade
Between them, 50 primaries and 11 secondaries teach 28,412 pupils in Portsmouth. St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. Of its 67 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. GCSE results at the town’s 11 secondary schools: just over a third of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 40.8.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 67 schools →
Safety
Per resident, Portsmouth sees more crime than nine in ten UK towns
53.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Among the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Portsmouth has more crime per resident than 72% of them. Police recorded 24,227 crimes inside the town’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 3,053 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.6 reports per 1,000, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (5.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 44% were violence and sexual offences.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 28% 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 & sexual10,654
Shoplifting3,158
Public order2,252
Damage & arson1,686
Other theft1,602
Vehicle crime1,398
Drugs1,053
Burglary603
Anti-social3,053
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.
53.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.6
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.
History
A town of 490 listed buildings, 13 of them Grade I
490listed buildingsAHistory Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
37% of homes date from before 1919. At the top of the list, 13 are Grade I and 30 Grade II*. 3 registered parks and gardens lie in Portsmouth.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Portsmouth’s life expectancy trails 79% of UK towns
82%good or very good healthC−Health Grade
12 GP practices serve the town; 70% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Portsmouth is Queen Alexandra Hospital, 2.6 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4.9% of the town.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
HousingCost of living grade C+
More households rent privately in Portsmouth than in Hampshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 27%
£265Kmedian sale
55% of households are owner-occupiers. Private rents average £1,354 a month across the Portsmouth council area. The median sale, £265,000, comes from 7,408 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Portsmouth£265K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£490,000
347
Semi-detached
£340,000
1,260
Terraced
£265,000
4,080
Flat or maisonette
£170,000
1,721
55%
of households own their home · England 61%
27%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,354
average private rent a month, Portsmouth council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Portsmouth skews young, with 16% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Hampshire’s towns or England’s towns
36.8median age
The 65-and-over age group makes up 16% of residents. Typical age in Portsmouth: 36.8, the median. Also worth knowing: 30% of adults hold a degree, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (33%) and England’s towns (34%).
PortsmouthHampshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar22%
Degree level30%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Charles Dickens: Jeremiah Gurney, Public domain · Peter Sellers: Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 · James Callaghan: Christian Lambiotte, CC BY 4.0 · Neil Gaiman: Kyle Cassidy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Christopher Hitchens: ensceptico, CC BY 2.0 · George Meredith: George Frederic Watts, Public domain
About Portsmouth
City in Hampshire, England
Portsmouth is a built-up area of 223,324 people, in the Portsmouth 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.
Stoke has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Portsmouth
How many listed buildings are there in Portsmouth?
Its Grade I buildings include Cathedral Church of St Thomas. It also has 15 scheduled monuments.
Are schools in Portsmouth good?
GCSE results trail 85% of towns in England, and primary results trail 84% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Does Portsmouth flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.
