Is Southampton, Hampshire a nice place to live?

Is Southampton a nice place to live or is Southampton a bit rough? For us there are a number of factors that make any town a nice place to live, like a low crime rate, low levels of deprivation, the good health of the residents, rent affordability and excellent wages. In this article we will see if Southampton meets our criteria.

How likely are you to a victim of crime in Southampton?

The English Indices of Deprivation has a crime element for Southampton. They are a measure of how likely you are to be a victim of personal or material crime in an area, such as muggings or burglary. Naturally rural areas have less crime than urban areas, but for this part of our town assessment we've looked at the 10 wards nearest to the centre of Southampton. To pass this section, 8 out of 10 of these wards need to be above the English national average rank of 16422.5

#WardCrime Rank
1Hedge End South20392
2West End South10445
3Bitterne Park9034
4Sholing8743
5Bursledon & Hound North7559
6Peartree6303
7Harefield4674
8Bitterne4166
9Woolston3786
10Bevois2521
Crime
FAILED

Reader Opinion:

Dymchurch, a geriatric landfill on the south-east coast of Kent

Is Southampton a healthy place to live?

If you are thinking of moving to Southampton, you want to know if the place is likely to put you on a downward spiral of ill health. For this section of the town assessment, we've examined government health statistics from the 2021 Census General Health question and the Indices of Multiple Deprivation's health element.The table below shows what percentage of Southampton residents answered saying their health was either bad or very bad. To pass this section, the local authority has to have a percentage score less than or equal to 7%.

Local Authority%
Eastleigh3.79
Fareham4.03
Southampton (Southampton)4.97
Gosport5.48

The English Indices of Deprivation also has health statistics for Southampton. They measures the risk of premature death and the impairment of quality of life through poor physical or mental health, lovely! We've collated an average LSOA rank for 10 wards nearest to the centre of Southampton. To pass this section, 8 out of 10 of these wards need to be above the English national average rank of 16422.5.

#WardHealth Rank
1West End South (Best)24978
2Hedge End South24470
3Bursledon & Hound North19851
4Bitterne Park14436
5Sholing11235
6Harefield8878
7Woolston7869
8Peartree7473
9Bitterne5888
10Bevois (Worst)5496
Health
FAILED
Reader Opinion:

Bartley a hole between Totton and the posh Lyndhurst

Is Southampton rough?

Using the English Indices of Deprivation statistics, we've collated the average rank for 10 wards in and around Southampton. In layman's terms, this is how rough the ward is based on mutiple measures of deprivation including; employment, income, health, crime, housing and outside space. To pass this section as the town assessment, 8 out of 10 wards must have a ranking higher than the English average of 16422.5

#WardDeprivation Rank
1Hedge End South25649
2West End South23182
3Bursledon & Hound North19104
4Bitterne Park17436
5Sholing13439
6Peartree11069
7Harefield10185
8Bevois8435
9Woolston8372
10Bitterne5537
Deprivation
FAILED



How affordable are the rents in Southampton?

Every six months the Office for National statitics publishes a snapshot of rental costs. These market rental statistics are dated September 2023. We have used the median rental figure for this assessment as we believe this is a more realistic figure than the average (mean) that can be skewed by artificially low and high rents. To pass this section, Southampton rents for each size property have to be less than 5% more than the median rent for .

BedsSouthampton
1£650£
2£850£
3£975£
4£1300£
Affordable Rents
FAILED



How much can I earn in Southampton per week?

If you are thinking of moving to Southampton, you'll want to know how much you can earn in a job in the town. Every year the government publishes statistics on gross weekly pay, these figures are for September 2023. To pass this section Southampton's local authority needs to be in first or second place compared to the three nearest local authorities.

#Local AuthorityMedian Pw
1Fareham£748.20
2Eastleigh£712.70
3Gosport£656.80
4Southampton UA (Southampton)£651.60
Wages
FAILED



So, is Southampton a nice place to live?

Is Southampton a nice place to live?
NO*
* Probably.