Crap Towns / Devon / Plymouth
Plymouth
86/100Crap Score
Locals call it Guzz. They call themselves Janners.
137th crappest of 984 towns, and the crappest 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
Got something to say about Plymouth? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Plymouth. Grimouth, say the locals.
The waterfront's stunning. The city centre's concrete, and they chopped the trees down.
Plymouth's got the Hoe, the Sound and the Barbican, and from the seafront it looks great. Turn round and the city centre's a load of concrete. The council chopped down the trees on Armada Way in the night and the redevelopment drags on.
20 places are on the Heritage at Risk list, old forts and dockyard buildings mostly, so the old stuff's falling down while they argue about the new stuff. 27% of the council's minor roads need looking at, against 16% across England. Fly-tipping and food hygiene are worse than most. Plymouth comes out the crappest in Devon, level with Torquay, and Exeter will be unbearable about it. Grimouth, mate.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Plymouth's 84 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 84% of towns.
- Fly-tipping84/10020.4 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Plymouth council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene80/1003.9% rated 0 to 2, of the 1,435 food businesses with a rating
- Rain79/100154 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Criminal damage and arson77/1009.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills74/100685 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour66/10017.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires62/1007.5 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Serious road collisions52/1002.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Broadband36/1006.3% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 6.2% across the Plymouth council area
- Air pollution27/1007.4 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth | 86 |
| 2 | Torquay | 84 |
| 3 | Barnstaple | 69 |
| 4 | Tiverton | 69 |
| 5 | Paignton | 53 |
| 6 | Exeter | 45 |
| 7 | Bideford | 42 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.8 | Newton Abbot | 39 |
| 9 | Honiton | 37 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Plymouth by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 92.0 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 21% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 25 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 0.9 per 10,000 people, 74% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 16 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
- 4 of 4 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 130 pubs, 114 hairdressers, 49 charity shops, 19 bookmakers, 14 vape shops, 13 banks, 5 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 4.5% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (7 of 157) Worse: 13% higher than the typical town's 4.0%
- 5 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Better: 1.9 per 100,000 people, 44% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 2 libraries shut for good since 2010: Eggbuckland Library (2017) and Ernesettle Library (2017)
- 61 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 2.3 per 10,000 people, 44% higher than the typical town's 1.6
- 16 public swimming pools open; 5 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 14% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 20 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.18am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.5% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 3x the typical town's 0.5%
- 9.2% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 41% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,611 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 5% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Plymouth council
Have a crap-off
Plymouth 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.