Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in West Sussex, South East, home to 10,740 people.
More weak spots than strong ones. Taken together, its subjects give Selsey a D overall, better than 9% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #36 of 40 in West Sussex. Work and incomes lag: households earn a mean £40,939 a year, and 4.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Hazard risk is higher than most: 21.5% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. A median £340,000 buys a home here, 5.9 times what households in the Chichester council area earn in a year. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · 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 Selsey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Selsey does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 60 buildings inside Selsey’s built-up area.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →60 listed buildings in Selsey.
The Parish Church of St Peter: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Medmerry Windmill: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Stable Cottage: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mill House: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Selsey.
Degrees are held by 23% of adults, below both West Sussex’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (34%). Those 65 and older account for 37% of residents. Selsey has a median age of 57.2 years. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Selsey | West Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 9.8% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 37% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, two primaries and one secondary teach 1,028 pupils in Selsey. Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 38.3, and 33% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seal Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 294 | B− |
| The Academy, SelseyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 523 | C− |
Social housing holds nearly one in ten households, lower than both West Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). 15% of households are private tenants. From September 2023 to August 2026, 567 homes sold inside Selsey’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £340,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £413,500 | 246 |
| Semi-detached | £320,000 | 183 |
| Terraced | £295,000 | 81 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,000 | 57 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
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.
The car took 78% of commuters, above West Sussex’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. A quarter of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. Each working resident is matched by 0.7 jobs in Selsey.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Selsey’s share in bad or very bad health, 7.1%, is the highest of the 66 towns in West Sussex. Just over a fifth of residents in Selsey live with a disability. Life expectancy here is 82 for women and 77.8 for men (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; 75% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Selsey | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.1% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 17% | 17% |
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.
48% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Police recorded 578 crimes inside Selsey’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 233 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 14.7 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both West Sussex’s towns (11.5) 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 7% of homes were built. Of Selsey’s land, 2% lies in conservation areas, below West Sussex’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. The town has 56 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town in West Sussex, England
Selsey is a built-up area of 10,740 people, in the Chichester 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selsey | 10,740 | — | D | C− | C+ | C |
| Pagham | 1,291 | 3.2 | — | D− | C | B− |
| East Wittering | 6,060 | 4.1 | C− | D | B+ | B |
| Hunston | 1,154 | 5.5 | — | C− | B− | C+ |
| Bognor Regis | 68,443 | 6.1 | D | D | C− | C |
| Chichester | 31,709 | 7.5 | C− | D | D | C+ |
| Bosham | 2,693 | 7.6 | A− | D | B | A− |
| Fishbourne | 3,368 | 7.6 | B− | D | C | A− |
Pagham and Hunston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 2.3 times the typical UK town for its size.
GCSE results trail 90% of towns in England, and primary results beat 54% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Selsey has 3 state schools; places are handled by West Sussex council.
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.