Balcombe & Handcross

Mid Sussex · South East · population 8,058 · 5 LSOAs

Approximate neighbourhood (MSOA) boundary. © OpenStreetMap contributors; boundary © ONS / Crown copyright.

73Area Score / 100 ?
  • #1,869 of 6,856 in England
  • #481 of 1,119 in South East
  • #12 of 17 in Mid Sussex
  • Less deprived (top 30%)
Compare this area →

People living here Census 2021

Residents7,869
Median age (est.)45
Density106per km²
No qualifications11%
Degree or above41%
No car or van7%

Age

0–14 18%15–24 9%25–44 23%45–64 30%65+ 19%

Tenure

Own outright: 33%Mortgage/shared: 37%Social rent: 11%Private rent: 19%
Own outright 33%Mortgage/shared 37%Social rent 11%Private rent 19%

Households

One person: 26%Couple, no children: 21%Couple with children: 30%Lone parent: 8%Other: 16%
One person 26%Couple, no children 21%Couple with children 30%Lone parent 8%Other 16%

Work (top occupations)

Professional 22% · Managers & directors 21% · Associate professional 16%

All occupation groups
Professional22%
Managers & directors21%
Associate professional16%
Administrative9%
Skilled trades9%
Caring & leisure8%
Elementary6%
Sales & customer service5%
Process & plant4%

Ethnic group

White: 94%Asian: 2%Black: 1%Mixed: 2%Other: 0%
White 94%Asian 2%Black 1%Mixed 2%Other 0%

Religion & identity

Christian 48% · No religion 42% · Muslim 1%

Born outside the UK: 11%

Census 2021 (ONS), Crown copyright, OGL v3.0. Shares are of each question's own respondents (e.g. education is % of residents aged 16+). Figures date from March 2021 and change slowly between censuses.

In summary

Balcombe & Handcross is in the less-deprived top third of England, ranked #1,869 of 6,856 neighbourhoods nationally, and #12 of 17 in Mid Sussex. It is highly uneven across the seven themes — strong on Health (86) but weak on Housing & access (21). Typical homes here sold for about £505,000 over the past year, up 10% across five years (from 137 sales), 15% above the wider Mid Sussex median of £440,000. Typical household take-home income is around £49,659 a year, in the top third of England. Recorded crime ran at 45 incidents per 1,000 residents over the past year, well below the England rate of 83.

Themed scores ?

Each 0–100, higher = less deprived on that theme. National rank shown.

Income 69 · #2,123
Employment 82 · #1,225
Education 85 · #1,047
Health 86 · #930
Crime 71 · #1,993
Housing & access 21 · #5,420
Living environment 32 · #4,659

House prices ?

£505,000median (12m) · -3.8% yr · n=137
TypeMedian (12m)Sales1yr5yr
All homes£505,000137-3.8%+10.5%
Detached£820,00059+5.8%+36.7%
Semi-detached£422,00041-8.3%-0.8%
Terraced£412,50020+3.1%+21.3%
Flat£275,00017+11.8%+27.9%
This area£505,000
Mid Sussex£440,000
South East£385,000
England£300,000
Annual median price, all homes. Small samples can be volatile.

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Household income

Net household income (a year)£49,659±£6,889 · #1,118 of 6,856
After housing costs (equivalised)£45,708
Price-to-income ?10.2×typical home ÷ net income — more stretched than the England figure of 7.5×

Model-based ONS estimates (FYE 2023) with 95% confidence intervals — a guide to the typical household, not a measurement. How income estimates work →

Affordability-adjusted Score ?

30Affordability-adjusted Score / 100
Best-value areas in England →

Recorded crime ?

45 crimes per 1,000 residents · 12 months · 363 offences
Mid Sussex47
South East71
England83

Rank #1,682 of 6,427 areas with published data (1 = lowest recorded rate).

Category (12 months)Recorded
Violence & sexual offences157
Theft41
Burglary29
Vehicle crime14
Criminal damage & arson39
Public order & weapons43
Drugs17
Robbery1
Other22

Anti-social behaviour, recorded separately: 97 incidents.

Recorded incidents, not convictions. Crimes are counted where they happen while residents are counted where they live, so busy town-centre, retail and nightlife areas show high per-resident rates because visitors bring incidents with them. Street-level crime data © Crown copyright, data.police.uk, OGL v3.0. More on crime figures →

Official sources

Nearby areas

The closest neighbourhoods on the map, whichever authority they fall in.

Other areas in Mid Sussex

Similar areas across England

Neighbourhoods with the closest Area Score elsewhere in the country, for comparison.