Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Hampshire, South East, this large town has 34,766 residents.
Waterlooville’s lowest grade is for cost of living (C−): homes sell for a median £325,000, about 6.2 times local household income. Taken together, its subjects give Waterlooville a C− overall, better than just over a fifth of UK towns. It ranks #70 of 76 in Hampshire. The local economy does well: mean household income £55,132; 2.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Waterlooville is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Waterlooville does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 14 buildings inside Waterlooville’s built-up area.
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →14 listed buildings in Waterlooville.
Purbrook First School: Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0 · Stakeshill Cottage: Photo: Djm-leighpark · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 91, Stakes Hill Road: Photo: Djm-leighpark · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christ Church: Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Waterlooville.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 2% of homes were built. Relative to its size, Waterlooville keeps 4 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Waterlooville’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 6 primary schools, 57% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 5,214 pupils attend the town’s nine primaries and three secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen's Inclosure Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 414 | C |
| Oaklands Catholic SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,419 | B |
| St Peter's Catholic Primary School, WaterloovilleTop results in townPrimary | Primary | – | A |
69% of households own their home, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,181 a month across the Havant council area. Behind the median of £325,000: 1,448 standard sales inside Waterlooville’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £460,000 | 444 |
| Semi-detached | £343,000 | 467 |
| Terraced | £282,000 | 345 |
| Flat or maisonette | £161,250 | 192 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
22% of residents are 65 or over. People aged 15 to 24 make up 10% of the town, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). The share of residents under 15 is 16%. Half of Waterlooville is older than 44.4, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Waterlooville | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 48% of recorded crime. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 2,385 crimes and 374 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Waterlooville’s built-up area. There were 9.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Hampshire’s towns (5.3) 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.
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.
85% of commuters drove, above both Hampshire’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%). There are 0.7 jobs in Waterlooville for each resident in work. Work in town: 17% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 45% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 19% of residents have a disability, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Waterlooville is Queen Alexandra Hospital, 2.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Waterlooville | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Waterlooville. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritagePortchester Castle4.6 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleWarblingon Castle4.1 km outside town, to the southeast
FortFort Widley900 m outside town, to the southwest
FortFort Southwick3.8 km outside town, to the west
MuseumSpring Arts and Heritage Centre3.1 km outside town, to the southeast
FortFort Purbrook300 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
12 notable people were born in Waterlooville.
Beatrice Shilling: Royal Air Force, Public domain · Geoffrey Van Orden: European Parliament from EU, CC BY 2.0 · Josh Flint: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0 · Edward Charles Ingouville-Williams: LIEUT.-COLONEL J. SHAKESPEAR, Public domain
Large town in Hampshire, England
Waterlooville is a built-up area of 34,766 people, in the Havant 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterlooville | 34,766 | — | C− | C− | C | B− |
| Havant | 46,964 | 2.1 | D− | C+ | D | C− |
| Denmead | 6,509 | 2.4 | B | B | A− | B |
| Horndean | 34,046 | 2.5 | B+ | A | B− | A− |
| Rowlands Castle | 2,969 | 3.2 | B− | B− | C+ | A |
| Emsworth | 11,512 | 4.4 | C+ | D | B− | A− |
| Stoke | 1,267 | 4.5 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Portsmouth | 223,324 | 4.7 | D | C+ | D | C− |
Stoke has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 65% of towns in England, and primary results trail 71% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Waterlooville has 14 state schools; places are handled by Hampshire council.
About the middle for its size: 45% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
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.