Several subjects drag its grade down. Crime is the sore point (D−): 58.3 violent and sexual offences and 22.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 87%. Southampton grades D overall and ranks #74 of 76 in Hampshire. Set against the rest, it does better than 7% of UK towns. It lags on health as well — life expectancy 78.1 for men, 82.2 for women. Buying the median home, at £260,000, takes 5 years of household income in the Southampton council area. Walkability is its strong suit — on the way to work, 31% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Southampton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Southampton.
Safety
Southampton records more crime per resident than 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.
Police recorded 30,641 crimes inside Southampton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 3,805 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 13.2 reports per 1,000, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (5.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up just over two fifths of the total.
58.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearD−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 13% 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 & sexual12,680
Shoplifting3,951
Public order2,858
Damage & arson2,372
Other theft2,111
Vehicle crime1,768
Drugs1,435
Burglary1,279
Anti-social3,805
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.
58.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
22.2
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
13.2
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.
SchoolsC−
Southampton’s schools fall behind 77% of towns in England on results
Springhill Catholic Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 44 primary schools, 58% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 76 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the town’s 12 secondary schools: 37% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 41.7.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 76 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
4.4% of 16 to 64s in Southampton claim unemployment benefits, more than in Hampshire’s towns and across England’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.
Work in town: 57% of resident commuters. Jobs per working resident: 1. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 59%, above Hampshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. Nearly two thirds of commuters took the car to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Health
Southampton’s life expectancy trails 80% of UK towns
21 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 5% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, about level with England’s towns (5.2%) and above Hampshire’s towns (4.3%). The nearest A&E to Southampton is Southampton General Hospital, 2 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
HousingCost of living grade C
Fewer households own their home in Southampton than in Hampshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 48%
29% rent privately, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%). Social renters account for 22% of households. Only one of the 77 towns in Hampshire costs less to buy into than Southampton, whose median sale is £260,000.
£260Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Southampton£260K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£375,000
1,064
Semi-detached
£304,000
1,976
Terraced
£260,000
1,984
Flat or maisonette
£163,000
2,489
48%
of households own their home · England 61%
29%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,257
average private rent a month, Southampton council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
A town of 320 listed buildings, 16 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Southampton’s listed buildings include Bar Gate and Guildhall, Grade I. Nearly a fifth of its homes were built before 1919, above Hampshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. 3 registered parks and gardens lie locally.
Benny Hill: Ricardo Liberato, CC BY-SA 2.0 · John Everett Millais: John Everett Millais, Public domain · Wayne Bridge: Рыбакова Елена, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Craig David: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 · Ken Russell: DiVicenzo at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Will Champion: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0
Chilworth has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Southampton
How many listed buildings are there in Southampton?
Its Grade I buildings include Bar Gate and Guildhall. It also has 38 scheduled monuments.
Are schools in Southampton good?
GCSE results trail 79% of towns in England, and primary results trail 67% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About Southampton
City in Hampshire, England
Southampton is a built-up area of 249,633 people, in the Southampton 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
249,633 (Census 2021)
Council
Southampton (mostly)
County
Hampshire
Region
South East
Area
18.6 sq mi (48.1 km²)
ONS code
E63006382
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.
