Crap Towns / Devon / Exmouth
Exmouth
12/100Crap Score
864th crappest of 984 towns, and 16th in Devon. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
Wake us up when it's summer
Exmouth's got a long sandy beach and bugger all else. Locals call it Yawnmouth.
Exmouth's got a big sandy beach and that's the day sorted. After that, not a lot. Locals call it Yawnmouth. The public bogs are grim and in winter there's nothing on at night.
The banks have announced 3 branch closures and the charity shops have taken over, at over four times the typical town's per head. The sewage warnings put people off the sea, which is the one thing the place has got. Locals reckon the best thing about Exmouth is the train to Exeter, because it leaves. They'd know.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Exmouth's 79 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 79% of towns.
- Sewage spills79/100826 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Broadband63/1002.9% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 24.8% across the East Devon council area
- Food hygiene63/1003.1% rated 0 to 2, of the 257 food businesses with a rating
- Criminal damage and arson40/1006.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain39/100123 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Anti-social behaviour25/10011.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires13/1002.8 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Serious road collisions9/1001.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution9/1004.1 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.3 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Fly-tipping1/1002.5 incidents per 1,000 people a year, East Devon council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Honiton | 37 |
| 10 | Dawlish | 31 |
| 11 | Tavistock | 27 |
| 12 | Kingsteignton | 26 |
| 13 | Teignmouth | 24 |
| 14 | Brixham | 23 |
| 15 | Ivybridge | 18 |
| 16 | Exmouth | 12 |
| 17 | Sidmouth | 5 |
Exmouth by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 54.5 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 28% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 5 reports of abandoned vehicles on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 1.4 per 10,000 people, 1.6x the typical town's 0.9
- 5 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2024
- 1 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 22 pubs, 28 hairdressers, 21 charity shops, 3 bookmakers, 1 vape shop, 2 banks, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 3.9% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (1 of 26) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 8.5 per 100,000 people, 2.5x the typical town's 3.4
- 12 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.4 per 10,000 people, 2.1x the typical town's 1.6
- 3 public swimming pools open Better: 0.8 per 10,000 people, 14% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.15am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.3% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 40% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 15.6% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space About the same: About the same as the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,691 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 10% higher than the typical town's 1,532
East Devon council
Have a crap-off
Exmouth against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.