Living in Southbourne
Figures last changed 20 October 2026. House prices for Southbourne are on the main Southbourne page.
On this page: Who lives in Southbourne? · How much is council tax in Southbourne? · Is Southbourne safe? · How noisy is Southbourne, and how clean is the air?
Who lives in Southbourne?
About 6,370 people lived in Southbourne at the 2021 Census, in about 2,910 households, and they were older than most of England: 30% were 65 or over, against 27% across Chichester district and 18% in England. The median age was about 52, against 49 across the area and 40 in England. Of its households, 47% owned their home outright and 28% with a mortgage; 13% rented privately, against 18% across the area, and 11% rented from a council or housing association. 33% were one person living alone, about half of them aged 66 or over. Rents are published only for whole council areas: across Chichester district, private rents averaged £1,333 a month in August 2026, up 2.9% on a year, on the ONS private rents index, against £1,459 in England. The census figures cover the 21 census output areas that hold Southbourne's postcodes, so at the edges they can take in a few homes just outside it.
Source: Census 2021 (Office for National Statistics, via Nomis) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents.
How much is council tax in Southbourne?
A Band D home in Southbourne is charged £2,462 in council tax for 2026 to 2027, against an average of £2,470 across Chichester district. Of that, West Sussex County Council takes £1,890, the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner £282, Chichester District Council £198 and Southbourne Parish Council £92. The other bands are fixed shares of Band D: Band A is £1,641, Band C £2,188, Band E £3,009 and Band H, the highest, £4,923. These are full bills before discounts: someone living alone gets 25% off. A home's band is on the Valuation Office Agency's register, and the council's own bill may differ by a few pence.
Source: Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England (MHCLG), Table 10 · Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils in England (MHCLG).
Is Southbourne safe?
By police figures, safer than Chichester district as a whole: police recorded 266 crimes in and around Southbourne between September 2025 and August 2026, about 42 for every 1,000 residents, against 64 across Chichester district. The most common were violence and sexual offences (119), criminal damage and arson (35) and other theft (32). In police figures that heading includes threats, harassment and stalking, not only assaults. There were also 99 reports of anti-social behaviour, which is counted separately because it is not a crime. Police place each incident at an anonymous point nearby, so ones near the edge can land on either side, and visitors and passing traffic count in the crimes but not in the residents, which pushes the rate up in town centres and along main roads.
Source: Police recorded crime and anti-social behaviour (data.police.uk) · Census 2021 (Office for National Statistics, via Nomis).
How noisy is Southbourne, and how clean is the air?
Quiet away from the main roads, on the government's noise maps: 66 of Southbourne's 215 postcodes (31%) have road noise at their centre point above the World Health Organization's guideline of 53 decibels, a day and night average that weights the evening and night up. The middle postcode sits at about 50 decibels and the loudest at 73. Railway noise passes the WHO's 54 decibel guideline at eight postcodes near the line. The air is within the legal limits and the WHO's guideline for nitrogen dioxide, though not its tighter one for fine particles: Defra's background maps put nitrogen dioxide at about 8 micrograms per cubic metre in 2026 across Southbourne's ten one-kilometre squares, against a legal limit of 40 and a WHO guideline of 10, and fine particles (PM2.5) at about 6, against a legal limit of 20 and a WHO guideline of 5. Noise is modelled for 2022, 4 metres above the ground, so a house set back from the road can be quieter. The pollution figures are background levels away from the kerb, projected from 2021; beside a busy road they are higher.
Source: Defra strategic noise maps, Round 4 (2022), road and rail · Defra background air pollution maps (2021 base year).
Figures cover 215 postcodes in Southbourne. How these figures are made.