Local profile · Southampton (unitary city council) · 2022–2026

21.5% of pupils at schools in Southampton were persistently absent, the highest share in Hampshire

In 2024/25, 21.5% of pupils at schools in Southampton missed at least one session in ten, 3.4 percentage points above England’s 18.1%. Figures are for Southampton council area; compare them with the other 12 areas below.

Evidence last reviewed 11 October 2026

The evidence

How does Southampton compare?

Southampton: persistent absence rate 21.5%, the highest of 13 areas; Hart is lowest at 12.7%

Pupils missing 10% or more of possible sessions as a share of enrolled pupils, all state-funded schools located in the area, 2024/25 academic year.

Ceremonial Hampshire’s 13 council areas (11 districts, Portsmouth and Southampton) · 2024/25
2024/25England 18.1%
  • Southampton21.5%
  • Portsmouth19.7%
  • Gosport19.7%
  • Havant19.5%
  • New Forest17.2%
  • Basingstoke and Deane15.6%
  • Eastleigh15.6%
  • Fareham15.2%
  • Rushmoor15.2%
  • East Hampshire15.1%
  • Winchester14.7%
  • Test Valley13.9%
  • Hart12.7%
Southampton has the highest persistent absence rate (21.5%) and Hart the lowest (12.7%); 4 of 13 areas are above England’s 18.1%. Southampton is 21.5%, 3.4 percentage points above England (1st highest of 13). Counted where the school is, not where the pupil lives, and with pupil enrolments as the denominator. Absence has many causes, including illness, special educational needs and family circumstances. 2024/25 is the latest year held here.

Ceremonial Hampshire’s 13 council areas (11 districts, Portsmouth and Southampton) · 2024/25 · Published statistics

Show the workings — Southampton: persistent absence rate 21.5%, the highest of 13 areas; Hart is lowest at 12.7%
Geography:
Ceremonial Hampshire’s 13 council areas (11 districts, Portsmouth and Southampton)
Measure:
% of enrolled pupils
Period:
2024/25
Status:
Published statistics
Calculation:
As published by the source.
Compare with:
England 18.1%, 2024/25

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England 2024/25, Absence by school location (local authority district basis).

View the data as a table
Area% of enrolled pupilsPeriod
Southampton21.5%2024/25
Portsmouth19.7%2024/25
Gosport19.7%2024/25
Havant19.5%2024/25
New Forest17.2%2024/25
Basingstoke and Deane15.6%2024/25
Eastleigh15.6%2024/25
Fareham15.2%2024/25
Rushmoor15.2%2024/25
East Hampshire15.1%2024/25
Winchester14.7%2024/25
Test Valley13.9%2024/25
Hart12.7%2024/25

Compare Southampton with any other area on another measure: compare Hampshire’s 13 areas.

Local house prices over 30 years

These are median prices paid for homes sold in Southampton, in the money of each year. They describe transactions, not the value of every home. Changes in the mix of properties sold can change the median.

Annual data: Southampton: median price paid, year ending December

Thirty December observations, 1996–2025, within the fixed 1996–2026 window. December 2026 is not yet available. The latest March 2026 rolling-year observation used elsewhere on the page is not substituted for a December observation. A dash means no comparable observation is supplied; it is not zero. Registered residential property transactions in this council area; not an inflation-adjusted or quality-adjusted house-price index.

1996–2026; £ thousands, nominal. No change is calculated across definition or assessment breaks.

Southampton: median price paid, year ending December; £ thousands, nominal
YearMedian price (£ thousands)
199650
199754.5
199859
199965
200079.5
200190
2002115
2003135
2004146
2005150
2006155
2007164
2008158
2009150
2010165
2011160
2012160
2013160
2014170
2015182.5
2016195
2017210
2018210
2019219
2020222.9
2021233
2022255
2023245
2024260
2025260
2026No comparable observations supplied

ONS original workbook, table 2a: median prices for administrative geographies

Southampton: how things have changed

House prices over 30 years, plus the available history for rents and population. Each chart covers the same local-authority area throughout.

What homes sold for

£260,000

Median sale price · year ending Mar 2026 · Southampton

£0£150k£300kMar 1996Mar 2026

£211,500 more than in Mar 1996 (436.1% increase). Cash prices; inflation accounts for part of the rise.

Source, explanation and data table

Median price paid for homes sold in each year ending March, 1996–2026. Cash prices, not adjusted for inflation. This differs from the mix-adjusted House Price Index average.

Official source and download ↗ · checked 2026-10-16

What homes sold for · Southampton
PeriodPounds
Mar 1996£48,500
Mar 1997£50,500
Mar 1998£55,950
Mar 1999£59,500
Mar 2000£67,825
Mar 2001£80,975
Mar 2002£94,000
Mar 2003£119,995
Mar 2004£137,000
Mar 2005£149,000
Mar 2006£150,000
Mar 2007£157,000
Mar 2008£165,000
Mar 2009£154,000
Mar 2010£155,000
Mar 2011£163,500
Mar 2012£160,000
Mar 2013£157,000
Mar 2014£161,000
Mar 2015£173,700
Mar 2016£184,000
Mar 2017£201,000
Mar 2018£211,000
Mar 2019£210,000
Mar 2020£219,000
Mar 2021£225,000
Mar 2022£236,000
Mar 2023£257,000
Mar 2024£245,000
Mar 2025£265,000
Mar 2026£260,000

What renting costs each month

£1,257

Aug 2026 · Southampton

£0£750£1,500Jan 2015Aug 2026

£450 more per month than in Jan 2015 (55.8% increase). Cash prices; inflation accounts for part of the rise.

Source, explanation and data table

Average monthly private rent, January 2015–August 2026. New and existing tenancies. Cash prices, not adjusted for inflation; no comparable 30-year local series is available here.

Official source and download ↗ · checked 2026-10-16

What renting costs each month · Southampton
PeriodPounds
Jan 2015£807
Feb 2015£808
Mar 2015£808
Apr 2015£810
May 2015£811
Jun 2015£814
Jul 2015£816
Aug 2015£820
Sept 2015£822
Oct 2015£826
Nov 2015£830
Dec 2015£836
Jan 2016£841
Feb 2016£844
Mar 2016£846
Apr 2016£850
May 2016£852
Jun 2016£855
Jul 2016£857
Aug 2016£861
Sept 2016£863
Oct 2016£866
Nov 2016£868
Dec 2016£870
Jan 2017£872
Feb 2017£873
Mar 2017£874
Apr 2017£875
May 2017£875
Jun 2017£876
Jul 2017£876
Aug 2017£876
Sept 2017£877
Oct 2017£877
Nov 2017£878
Dec 2017£879
Jan 2018£879
Feb 2018£879
Mar 2018£879
Apr 2018£880
May 2018£881
Jun 2018£881
Jul 2018£883
Aug 2018£885
Sept 2018£886
Oct 2018£888
Nov 2018£890
Dec 2018£891
Jan 2019£892
Feb 2019£893
Mar 2019£893
Apr 2019£893
May 2019£893
Jun 2019£894
Jul 2019£894
Aug 2019£895
Sept 2019£896
Oct 2019£898
Nov 2019£899
Dec 2019£900
Jan 2020£900
Feb 2020£901
Mar 2020£901
Apr 2020£902
May 2020£902
Jun 2020£902
Jul 2020£902
Aug 2020£903
Sept 2020£904
Oct 2020£906
Nov 2020£908
Dec 2020£910
Jan 2021£911
Feb 2021£913
Mar 2021£914
Apr 2021£916
May 2021£918
Jun 2021£920
Jul 2021£923
Aug 2021£926
Sept 2021£929
Oct 2021£933
Nov 2021£936
Dec 2021£941
Jan 2022£944
Feb 2022£948
Mar 2022£951
Apr 2022£955
May 2022£960
Jun 2022£966
Jul 2022£972
Aug 2022£977
Sept 2022£983
Oct 2022£990
Nov 2022£995
Dec 2022£1,002
Jan 2023£1,008
Feb 2023£1,014
Mar 2023£1,019
Apr 2023£1,025
May 2023£1,031
Jun 2023£1,038
Jul 2023£1,044
Aug 2023£1,052
Sept 2023£1,061
Oct 2023£1,070
Nov 2023£1,080
Dec 2023£1,091
Jan 2024£1,101
Feb 2024£1,111
Mar 2024£1,120
Apr 2024£1,128
May 2024£1,134
Jun 2024£1,141
Jul 2024£1,147
Aug 2024£1,155
Sept 2024£1,161
Oct 2024£1,171
Nov 2024£1,178
Dec 2024£1,185
Jan 2025£1,191
Feb 2025£1,198
Mar 2025£1,204
Apr 2025£1,209
May 2025£1,212
Jun 2025£1,216
Jul 2025£1,217
Aug 2025£1,216
Sept 2025£1,216
Oct 2025£1,220
Nov 2025£1,225
Dec 2025£1,231
Jan 2026£1,238
Feb 2026£1,243
Mar 2026£1,246
Apr 2026£1,248
May 2026£1,250
Jun 2026£1,253
Jul 2026£1,255
Aug 2026£1,257

How the population has changed

259,230

Population estimate · mid-2025 · Southampton

0150k300k20012025

39,691 more people than in 2001 (18.1% increase).

Source, explanation and data table

Mid-year population estimates, 2001–2025, from the current Nomis series. A district or unitary authority, not a city ward count. Earlier requested years are unavailable and have not been filled.

Official source and download ↗ · checked 2026-10-16

How the population has changed · Southampton
PeriodPeople
2001219,539
2002220,459
2003221,989
2004223,589
2005226,655
2006226,698
2007227,223
2008228,447
2009230,017
2010233,085
2011235,870
2012238,097
2013239,484
2014241,230
2015244,666
2016248,662
2017250,492
2018250,803
2019249,428
2020248,679
2021247,672
2022252,949
2023258,617
2024260,604
2025259,230

How life feels in Southampton

Do people feel they belong? Can they have a say? These survey answers add residents’ experiences to the facts about homes and services.

Survey estimates Southampton · people aged 16 and over · 2025/26 release.

● Local estimate   ■ England estimate. Lines show the range of uncertainty, not changes over time. Small differences alone do not establish a meaningful gap.

Community and belonging

Often or always lonely

11.8%

October 2025–March 2026

0%50%100%

England: 6.7%

How this was measured

Community and Engagement Survey · People aged 16 and over · October 2025–March 2026.

Question: How often do you feel lonely?
Answer counted: Often/Always

95% confidence interval: 8.9%–15.5%. Sample: 636 people answering this question. This is a sample count, not a count of residents with this experience.

CES community pathway, CLS methodology. Weighted survey estimate. Base is unweighted; respondent count is not a population count.

Original table C3, cell D235 ↗ · Publication and methods ↗

Source release: 2026-07-31. Checked 2026-10-16. Agent source and calculation checks; independent review outstanding.

Feel they belong in their neighbourhood

47.1%

October 2025–March 2026

0%50%100%

England: 61.2%

How this was measured

Community and Engagement Survey · People aged 16 and over · October 2025–March 2026.

Question: How strongly do you feel you belong to your immediate neighbourhood?
Answer counted: GROUPED: Very/Fairly strongly

95% confidence interval: 41.4%–52.9%. Sample: 549 people answering this question. This is a sample count, not a count of residents with this experience.

CES community pathway, CLS methodology. Weighted survey estimate. Base is unweighted; respondent count is not a population count.

Original table D3, cell D235 ↗ · Publication and methods ↗

Source release: 2026-07-31. Checked 2026-10-16. Agent source and calculation checks; independent review outstanding.

Proud to live in their area

42.2%

October 2025–March 2026

0%50%100%

England: 61.6%

How this was measured

Community and Engagement Survey · People aged 16 and over · October 2025–March 2026.

Question: How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? - I am proud to live in my local area
Answer counted: GROUPED: Agree

95% confidence interval: 36.9%–47.7%. Sample: 581 people answering this question. This is a sample count, not a count of residents with this experience.

CES community pathway, CLS methodology. Weighted survey estimate. Base is unweighted; respondent count is not a population count.

Original table E3, cell D235 ↗ · Publication and methods ↗

Source release: 2026-07-31. Checked 2026-10-16. Agent source and calculation checks; independent review outstanding.

Having a say

Feel able to influence local decisions

20.0%

October 2025–March 2026

0%50%100%

England: 26.4%

How this was measured

Community and Engagement Survey · People aged 16 and over · October 2025–March 2026.

Question: To what extent do you agree or disagree that you personally can influence decisions affecting your local area?
Answer counted: GROUPED: Agree

95% confidence interval: 16.4%–24.2%. Sample: 598 people answering this question. This is a sample count, not a count of residents with this experience.

CES community pathway, CLS methodology. Weighted survey estimate. Base is unweighted; respondent count is not a population count.

Original table B3, cell D235 ↗ · Publication and methods ↗

Source release: 2026-07-31. Checked 2026-10-16. Agent source and calculation checks; independent review outstanding.

Volunteer through a group at least monthly

17.4%

October 2025–March 2026

0%50%100%

England: 18.2%

How this was measured

Community and Engagement Survey · People aged 16 and over · October 2025–March 2026.

Question: Formal volunteering at least once a month in the last 12 months
Answer counted: Total (yes)

95% confidence interval: 13.8%–21.6%. Sample: 598 people answering this question. This is a sample count, not a count of residents with this experience.

CES community pathway, CLS methodology. Weighted survey estimate. Base is unweighted; respondent count is not a population count.

Original table G3, cell D235 ↗ · Publication and methods ↗

Source release: 2026-07-31. Checked 2026-10-16. Agent source and calculation checks; independent review outstanding.

Culture and libraries

Attend or take part in arts in person

83.1%

April 2025–March 2026 · experiences in the previous 12 months

0%50%100%

England: 83.4%

How this was measured

Community and Engagement Survey · People aged 16 and over · April 2025–March 2026. Answers refer to the previous 12 months.

Question: Engaged with the arts in person in the last 12 months
Answer counted: Total

95% confidence interval: 78.4%–86.9%. Sample: 659 people answering this question. This is a sample count, not a count of residents with this experience.

CES engagement pathway. Weighted survey estimate. Base is unweighted; respondent count is not a population count. Engagement pathway; check questionnaire and method before joining to Participation history.

Original table I3, cell D235 ↗ · Publication and methods ↗

Source release: 2026-07-31. Checked 2026-10-16. Agent source and calculation checks; independent review outstanding.

More about community life in Southampton →

Compare all three areas and England → · Download figures and uncertainty (CSV) · Shared evidence file

Issues in Southampton

Crime recorded in Southampton

Police-recorded crime, street-level data from police.uk, September 2025 to August 2026

30,787 crimes were recorded by the police in the Southampton council area from September 2025 to August 2026: 118.8 per 1,000 residents, the highest of Hampshire’s 13 areas. A further 3,902 anti-social behaviour incidents are counted separately.

Rates are per resident. Places that draw large numbers of shoppers, commuters, students, visitors and night-time crowds — Portsmouth and Southampton city centres above all — record crimes against people who do not live there, so their rates overstate the risk to residents. Recorded crime also reflects how often crimes are reported and how forces record them, not only how much crime happens.

England’s official rate was 83.4 per 1,000 (ONS police recorded crime excluding fraud, year ending March 2026) — a different source and year, so read the gap (+35.4) as approximate.

What kinds of crime are recorded in Southampton?

Violence and sexual offences make up 41% of recorded crime in Southampton

Crimes by police.uk category, September 2025 to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour (3,902 incidents) is not a crime and is not included.

Southampton council area · September 2025 to August 2026
  • Violence and sexual offences12,710 (41%)
  • Shoplifting3,985 (13%)
  • Public order2,869 (9%)
  • Criminal damage and arson2,403 (8%)
  • Other theft2,112 (7%)
  • Vehicle crime1,780 (6%)
  • Drugs1,444 (5%)
  • Burglary1,283 (4%)
  • Other crime576 (2%)
  • Robbery540 (2%)
  • Possession of weapons464 (2%)
  • Bicycle theft373 (1%)
  • Theft from the person248 (under 1%)
Police-recorded crime, street-level data from police.uk, September 2025 to August 2026. Categories are police.uk’s own groupings and are broad: “violence and sexual offences” runs from harassment to serious assault. Recorded crime depends on reporting and recording as well as offending. For the year to March 2026, ONS counted 31,147 crimes in Southampton (excluding fraud); police.uk shows 30,090 for the same months (−3.4%).

Southampton council area · September 2025 to August 2026 · Police management information (police.uk); not National Statistics

Show the workings — Violence and sexual offences make up 41% of recorded crime in Southampton
Geography:
Southampton council area
Measure:
crimes (count) and share of all crimes
Period:
September 2025 to August 2026
Status:
Police management information (police.uk); not National Statistics
Calculation:
police.uk street-level records counted by category and assigned to the council area by map point; anti-social behaviour and British Transport Police records excluded.
Not included / breaks:
Fraud (not on police.uk); crimes with no usable location; anti-social behaviour (shown separately).

Source: police.uk open data, street-level crimes (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary), POST https://data.police.uk/api/crimes-street/all-crime, months 2025-09 to 2026-08, by council-area polygon; retrieved 3 October 2026.

View the data as a table
CategoryCrimesShare
Violence and sexual offences12,71041.3%
Shoplifting3,98512.9%
Public order2,8699.3%
Criminal damage and arson2,4037.8%
Other theft2,1126.9%
Vehicle crime1,7805.8%
Drugs1,4444.7%
Burglary1,2834.2%
Other crime5761.9%
Robbery5401.8%
Possession of weapons4641.5%
Bicycle theft3731.2%
Theft from the person2480.8%
All crimes (excluding anti-social behaviour)30,787100%
Anti-social behaviour (not a crime)3,902—

How does recorded crime in Southampton move month by month?

2,566 crimes a month on average in Southampton; the busiest month was July 2026

Police-recorded crimes per month, excluding anti-social behaviour, September 2025 to August 2026.

Southampton council area · September 2025 to August 2026
Crimes per month01,0002,0003,000Sep ’25Dec ’25Mar ’26Jun ’26Aug ’262,913
The busiest month was July 2026 (2,977) and the quietest December 2025 (2,206). Recorded crime usually rises in summer and dips in winter, and one year is too short to call a trend. Police-recorded crime, street-level data from police.uk, September 2025 to August 2026.

Southampton council area · September 2025 to August 2026 · Police management information (police.uk); not National Statistics

Show the workings — 2,566 crimes a month on average in Southampton; the busiest month was July 2026
Geography:
Southampton council area
Measure:
crimes per month
Period:
September 2025 to August 2026
Status:
Police management information (police.uk); not National Statistics
Calculation:
Monthly counts of police.uk street-level crimes assigned to the council area by map point.
Not included / breaks:
Fraud; crimes with no usable location; anti-social behaviour (in the table only).

Source: police.uk open data, street-level crimes (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary), POST https://data.police.uk/api/crimes-street/all-crime, months 2025-09 to 2026-08, by council-area polygon; retrieved 3 October 2026.

View the data as a table
MonthCrimes (excluding anti-social behaviour)Anti-social behaviour incidents
September 20252,470275
October 20252,596280
November 20252,373245
December 20252,206218
January 20262,330229
February 20262,333263
March 20262,651332
April 20262,521385
May 20262,702409
June 20262,715361
July 20262,977437
August 20262,913468

How this compares with the official statistics

For the year to March 2026, ONS counted 31,147 crimes in Southampton (excluding fraud); police.uk shows 30,090 for the same months (−3.4%). The official series comes from the ONS and is the one used for national figures; police.uk is used here because it gives all 13 areas the same months, with categories and monthly detail. Why the two differ

Current status

Who runs the council
Labour majority (record checked 2026-08-01)
MPs (2024 general election)
Southampton Itchen — Darren Paffey (Labour); Southampton Test — Satvir Kaur (Labour). Constituency and council boundaries differ.
Local government reorganisation
Decision withdrawn; reorganisation under government review (checked 2026-09-23). Southampton council continues unchanged. What was decided and withdrawn

Party control and representatives across the county: Hampshire political map.

Who can change this?

Raise an issue with the body that holds the power. Responsibilities follow the two-tier split: the 11 districts share Hampshire County Council for schools, social care and public health, while Portsmouth and Southampton run all of these themselves.

Who holds the levers for Southampton
IssueLocal councilCounty / combined authorityNHS and policeCentral government
Housing supply and affordabilitySouthampton City Council: local plan, planning decisions, homelessness duty, its own council housing where heldHighways, schools and other infrastructure that sites need—MHCLG: national planning policy and housing targets; Homes England: affordable-housing funding
Work and benefitsSouthampton City Council: local economic development and employment supportHampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority: adult skills (from August 2027) and strategic growthNHS: health-related support to stay in workDWP and Jobcentre Plus: Universal Credit and conditionality
School attendanceSouthampton City Council: the local authority for schoolsSouthampton City Council (unitary: also the upper tier): attendance support under DfE’s statutory guidanceNHS: children’s mental health servicesDfE: funding and attendance policy; schools and academy trusts
Health and life expectancySouthampton City Council: housing standards, leisure, environmental healthSouthampton City Council (unitary: also the upper tier): public health duty and grantNHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB: commissioning; GP practices and trusts: careDHSC: NHS funding and public health grant
Crime and safetySouthampton City Council: Community Safety Partnership, licensing, CCTV—Police and Crime Commissioner: police plan and budget; Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary: operationsHome Office: police funding formula and law

Connections

  • School attendance in England

    What persistent absence measures and what has been tried. Schools and academy trusts; the local authority (Portsmouth, Southampton or Hampshire County Council) under DfE’s statutory attendance guidance; DfE nationally.

  • How healthy life differs by deprivation in England

    Healthy life expectancy differs by many years between England’s most and least deprived areas. Upper-tier councils hold the public health duty (Portsmouth, Southampton, Hampshire County Council); the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB commissions care; districts run housing, leisure and environmental health.

  • Compare Southampton with another area

    Put any two Hampshire areas side by side on the same measure and period.

  • Which bodies cover this area?

    ICB, police, education and social-care responsibilities for each of the 13 areas.

Local context

Background on the city’s economy, hospital and neighbourhoods. Figures here are from the named council, NHS or company sources, not the comparable measures above.

Major employers

Associated British Ports
Southampton container, cruise & vehicle port
University Hospital Southampton
12,000+ staff — major trauma centre
University of Southampton
City's 2nd-largest employer, ~6,500 staff
Southampton City Council
3,461 staff (58% city residents)
Carnival UK
P&O Cruises / Cunard's operating company — almost 2,000 staff at its Southampton HQ (guest services, product design, ship logistics)
Ordnance Survey
National mapping agency — headquartered in Southampton since 1841

The Port of Southampton

ABP's Southampton port handles around 3 million cruise passengers a year across five terminals, is the UK's leading vehicle-handling port (600,000 vehicles/year), and hosts the UK's second-largest container terminal. Nationally, the port is reported by ABP to support 45,600 jobs and contribute £2.5 billion to the UK economy annually — a whole-port figure, not a Southampton-city-specific one.

Source: ABP — Southampton

University Hospital Southampton — service geography context

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest acute teaching trusts in England, and the designated major trauma centre for the Wessex region and the Channel Islands.

1.9 million
People served for general/primary hospital services across southern Hampshire
3.7 million
People served for specialist services — central southern England and the Channel Islands
~150,000
Emergency department attendances per year (as published by the Trust)
~750,000
Outpatient appointments per year (as published by the Trust)
  • • One of only two hospitals in southern England offering full on-site major trauma care for both adults and children
  • • Specialist services include neurosciences, cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory medicine and specialist children's services

Source: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust — About UHS

Ward-level detail

The authority-wide deprivation figures above can conceal sharp variation between individual neighbourhoods. Southampton ranked 55th most deprived of England's 317 local authorities (English Indices of Deprivation 2019), with 19 of its neighbourhoods (LSOAs) among the most-deprived 10% nationally.

  • • Bargate (Golden Grove), Weston, Thornhill and Millbrook contain Southampton's most deprived neighbourhoods on the 2019 Indices of Deprivation
  • • Income deprivation affecting children ranges from under 5% in parts of Portswood, Shirley and Bassett to over 45% in parts of Redbridge and Woolston
  • • 34% of state-school pupils were eligible for free school meals in 2022/23, against a 23.8% England average
  • • Males in Southampton's most deprived areas live 7.8 years less, and females 3.4 years less, than those in the least deprived areas (2019–2021)

Source: Southampton Strategic Assessment: Deprivation and Poverty (Southampton Data Observatory / Southampton City Council, last updated January 2025), based on the English Indices of Deprivation 2019, DfE 2022/23 and DWP data as cited therein.

Innovation & Green Energy

Southampton Innovation Cluster

All figures below are sourced from official publications — nothing is estimated or inferred.

🔬 Southampton Science Park

Owned by the University of Southampton, the Science Park is home to over 100 companies, around 15% of which are University spin-outs or founded by academic staff — including Perpetuum, a spin-out from the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science that harvests kinetic energy and was named among Europe's top-100 Cleantech companies. The park has a long-standing partnership with SETsquared, the top-ranked university business incubator globally.

Source: UK Science Park Association

🚢 Solent Freeport — Southampton Water tax sites

Southampton's Solent Freeport tax sites are branded “Southampton Water” and include Fawley Waterside, ExxonMobil (Fawley), Solent Gateway, ABP-Redbridge and ABP-Solent Gateway 2 (Portsmouth's tax site is separate). Freeport-wide — not Southampton-specific — the Solent Freeport is projected to support 15,000 jobs and a £1bn uplift in Gross Value Added; no site-level breakdown of that figure is published.

Source: Solent Freeport

⚓ Green shipping

The Port of Southampton has hosted live demonstrations of green maritime fuel — including the world's first dual-fuel ammonia vessel, Fortescue's Green Pioneer, which called at the port in 2025.

Source: ABP — Port of Southampton news

All figures for Southampton

Every comparable measure held for the 13 areas, with its own period and comparator. Survey estimates and measures with mixed periods are not ranked.

MeasureSouthamptonEngland / GBHampshire rangePeriodStatus and source
Claimant rate4.2%4.0% (England, August 2026)1.8% (Hart) – 4.5% (Portsmouth)August 2026Official statistic · ONS Claimant Count via Nomis (NM_162_1, measure 2)
Employment rate73.3%75.5% (GB, Apr 2025-Mar 2026)73.3% (Southampton) – 87.6% (Fareham)Apr 2025-Mar 2026Survey estimate · ONS Annual Population Survey via Nomis
Median full-time earnings (residents)£37,669£40,014 (England, 2025)£36,457 (Portsmouth) – £48,256 (Hart)2025Official statistic · ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, resident analysis, via Nomis
House price to earnings ratio6.9×7.4× (England, House price: year ending Mar 2026. Earnings: 2025.)6.8× (Gosport) – 10.5× (Winchester)Year ending Mar 2026 house price / 2025 earningsSite calculation · ONS median house prices for administrative geographies (HPSSA)
Median house price£260,000£295,000 (England, Year ending Mar 2026)£252,000 (Gosport) – £467,500 (Winchester)Year ending Mar 2026Official statistic · ONS median house prices for administrative geographies (HPSSA)
Persistent absence21.5%18.1% (England, 2024/25)12.7% (Hart) – 21.5% (Southampton)2024/25Official statistic · DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England 2024/25
Male life expectancy at birth78.0 yrs79.5 yrs (England, 2022 to 2024)78.0 yrs (Southampton) – 83.7 yrs (Hart)2022 to 2024Official statistic · ONS, Life expectancy for local areas of the UK: between 2001 to 2003 and 2022 to 2024
Female life expectancy at birth82.6 yrs83.3 yrs (England, 2022 to 2024)82.3 yrs (Gosport) – 86.3 yrs (Winchester)2022 to 2024Official statistic · ONS, Life expectancy for local areas of the UK: between 2001 to 2003 and 2022 to 2024
Neighbourhoods in England’s most deprived 10%11.8%10.0% (England, 2025)0.0% (Winchester) – 12.0% (Portsmouth)2025Official statistic · MHCLG, English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Police-recorded crime rate118.883.4 (England, year ending March 2026)37.1 (Hart) – 118.8 (Southampton)September 2025 to August 2026Administrative data · police.uk open data, street-level crimes (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary)
Sources and methods (12)

Method notes

  • Each local page’s headline is chosen by a site rule, not written by hand: among measures with a matched England comparator and one period for all 13 areas, the selector scores |distance from the Hampshire median| + 0.5 × |distance from England|, both in cross-area standard deviations, and takes the highest. Survey estimates (employment rate), measures with mixed periods, and crime (its England comparator is a different source) cannot lead. Below a score of 0.75 the page uses a neutral fallback.
  • County figures are never invented. Rates are shown as ranges across the 13 areas, with the lowest and highest named, because a pooled employment rate needs each area’s employed and 16–64 population counts and a pooled absence rate needs pupil enrolments — this site holds neither. Population is a genuine sum.
  • England comparators: claimant count, absence, life expectancy and deprivation share the local period. So does the house-price-to-earnings ratio. Crime is compared with England’s ONS rate for the year to March 2026, a different source, which is flagged beside the figure. The employment comparator is Great Britain because Nomis publishes no England figure in that series.
  • Ranks are given only for administrative measures with one period. Survey estimates show no rank.
  • Winchester figures cover Winchester district, not just the city.
  • Crime (September 2025 to August 2026): every crime police.uk published for the 13 areas, fetched month by month from the police.uk API for a polygon around each council area, de-duplicated and assigned to the area its anonymised map point falls in (unsimplified ONS boundaries; 17 points on the coast that fell between boundary lines went to the nearest area within 1 km). Anti-social behaviour and British Transport Police records are kept out of crime totals. Rates use ONS mid-2025 resident populations. The method and script are in scripts/police-uk/; a check against the site’s separately built police.uk archive series for Portsmouth and Southampton (assigned by neighbourhood code, not by map point) agrees to within one crime a month.
  • Crime is checked against the ONS official figures (police force area and Community Safety Partnership tables, year ending March 2026). Over the same 12 months (April 2025 to March 2026), police.uk shows 135,156 crimes in the 13 areas against 137,696 in the ONS tables (−1.8%). Area by area the two are within 3.4% of each other; police.uk is lower in most areas and slightly higher in a few. For the whole force, including the Isle of Wight, police.uk is 4.1% below ONS, mostly because ONS also counts 3,316 offences it could not place in any area.
  • Crime is not used to lead a page: the comparator for England is a different source, and resident-based rates overstate risk where many non-residents visit. Areas are ranked only with that caveat beside the rank.