Crime is the sore point (D): 38.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 21.2 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 51%. It also trails on health (C) — life expectancy 78.2 for men, 82.7 for women. Walkability is its strong suit (A+): on the way to work, 65% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools are another plus: primary results beat 69% of towns in England; secondary results beat 68% of towns in England. Buying the median home, at £465,000, takes 6.4 years of household income in the Lewisham council area. The overall grade comes out at C+, #30 of 33 in London. That leaves it better than 40% of UK towns.
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 Lewisham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Crystal Palace High Level Station Entry: Dickinson Brothers, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lewisham.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
6.8% of 16 to 64s in Lewisham claim unemployment benefits, more than in both London’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Lewisham counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. 25% of commuters who live in Lewisham also work there. The car took 31% of commuters, lower than both London’s towns (38%) and England’s towns (70%). Before tax, the average household brings in £72K a year.
65%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving31%
Bus20%
Train17%
Underground, tram13%
On foot9%
Bicycle7%
38%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
45%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£72K
mean household income, before tax
6.8%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
A+
Walkability: more walkable than almost every UK town
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsB+
Lewisham’s schools outperform 73% of towns in England on results
Haberdashers' Hatcham Free School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 84 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the town’s 14 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 48.7, with 50% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 84 schools →
Safety
More crimes per resident in Lewisham than in 88% 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.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 23.3 reports per 1,000, below London’s towns (25.2) but above England’s towns (7.8). Reported offences in Lewisham came to 29,636 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 6,990. Violence and sexual offences made up 38% of the total.
38.8violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 49% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual11,154
Shoplifting3,143
Vehicle crime2,604
Other theft2,503
Public order2,223
Drugs1,667
Burglary1,595
Damage & arson1,304
Anti-social6,990
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.
38.8
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
21.2
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
23.3
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
Lewisham has 357 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Lewisham’s listed buildings include Boone's Chapel (With Short Abutting Wall to East), Grade I. Before 1919: that is when 36% of homes were built. Conservation areas cover 18% of the town’s land, below London’s towns (27%) but above England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 28 of them, Grade I 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Life expectancy in Lewisham is shorter than in 75% of UK towns
27 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 14% of people here had a disability, higher than London’s towns (13%) yet lower than England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 85% of residents of Lewisham said they were in good or very good health.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
HousingCost of living grade C+
More households in Lewisham live in social housing than in London’s towns or England’s towns: 29%
42% of households own their home, lower than both London’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (61%). The private rented sector houses 27% of households. Private rents average £1,830 a month across the Lewisham council area.
£465Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Lewisham£465K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£890,000
131
Semi-detached
£750,000
759
Terraced
£640,000
2,813
Flat or maisonette
£380,000
4,543
42%
of households own their home · England 61%
27%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,830
average private rent a month, Lewisham council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Lewisham is a graduates’ town: 50% hold a degree, more than in both London’s towns and England’s towns
Ages in Lewisham split evenly at 35.4: half are older, half younger. 9.5% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both London’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population.
35.4median age
LewishamLondonEngland
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level50%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Jude Law: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sid Vicious: Chicago Art Department c/o: L. Schorr, CC BY 2.0 · Alexander McQueen: Ed Kavishe / fashionwirepress.com, CC BY 3.0 · Joe Gomez: Timmy96, CC0
A young borough. At the 2021 Census, 18% of residents were under 15 and 37% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 9.5% were 65 or over.
How many listed buildings are there in Lewisham?
Its Grade I buildings include Boone's Chapel (With Short Abutting Wall to East). It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Is Lewisham safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Does Lewisham flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Lewisham
London borough in London
Lewisham is a built-up area of 300,764 people, in the Lewisham 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
300,764 (Census 2021)
Council
Lewisham (mostly)
City
London
Region
London
Area
12.6 sq mi (32.6 km²)
ONS code
E63005035
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.
