Sholing East
Southampton 026 · 5 sub-areas · 7,509 residents
Southampton 026 is a settled, predominantly owner-occupied neighbourhood within Southampton, home to around 7,500 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,100 a month — slightly below the UK median for a 2-bed — and the area skews noticeably older and more stable than many parts of the city. With 100% gigabit broadband coverage and greenspace within easy reach, it offers solid value for families and older households.
Sholing East is a mid-density neighbourhood of Southampton in the South East region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services.
Overview
What's it like to live in Sholing East?
2 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,246 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Sholing East in Southampton
Living in Sholing East
Southampton 026 sits towards the quieter, more residential end of Southampton's spectrum. It doesn't have the student churn of the city centre or the intense commuter pressure of areas close to the main rail terminus — instead, you get a neighbourhood that feels genuinely settled. Around seven in ten households own their home outright or with a mortgage, which is unusually high for a city area, and that tenure mix shows in how the streets feel: less transient, more long-term.
Rents here are competitive. A two-bedroom home runs around £1,100 a month, modestly below the UK median for that bedroom count, and a three-bedroom comes in at roughly £1,340. If you're a buyer rather than a renter, the median sale price sits at around £279,000 — and the years-to-deposit figure of 4.2 years is reasonable by south-east England standards, though still a stretch for first-time buyers on a local salary.
The population is fairly evenly spread across age groups, but the 65-plus share — just over one in five residents — is notably higher than you'd expect in a city neighbourhood. There's also a meaningful 18-to-34 cohort at around 21%, suggesting the area holds appeal across generations rather than being dominated by any single life stage. Ethnic diversity is relatively low, with over 90% of residents UK-born.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.5 km away — about a 19-minute walk — which is walkable but not on your doorstep. Most residents drive: about 62% of the working population commute by car. The nearest greenspace is around 360 metres away, and just over a third of the neighbourhood is within easy walking distance of a park. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets.
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Frequently asked
- Is Southampton 026 a nice place to live?
- For settled households — particularly families and older residents — it's a solid choice. Owner-occupation is high at around 71%, crime runs below the national average at about 67 per 1,000 residents, and greenspace is close by. The trade-off is that nearby school Ofsted ratings are below average and day-to-day transport relies heavily on the car.
- What is the rent in Southampton 026?
- A one-bed runs around £870 a month, a two-bed about £1,100, and a three-bed roughly £1,340. These are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 3.5% in the past year. Council tax adds around £198 a month on top for a Band D property.
- Is Southampton 026 safe?
- Relatively yes. The crime rate here is around 67 per 1,000 residents annually, which is below the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. The high owner-occupation rate and settled demographic profile tend to correlate with lower volume crime rates.
- What's the commute from Southampton 026 to Southampton city centre?
- Most residents drive — about 62% commute by car. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.5 km away (around a 19-minute walk). Public transport use is low at under 5% of commuters, so if you don't drive, factor that into your planning.
- Who lives in Southampton 026?
- Mostly owner-occupiers — about 71% of households own their home. The age spread is fairly even, but there's a higher-than-average share of over-65s (around 21%) and a meaningful 18-to-34 cohort. It's a settled, predominantly UK-born community with moderate qualification levels.
- What schools are near Southampton 026?
- There are 87 schools within 2 km of typical residents, so options are plentiful. However, only around 35% of those nearby schools are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average. The nearest Outstanding school is about 3.4 km away. Check catchment boundaries with Southampton City Council before choosing an address.
- How far is Southampton 026 from London?
- The rail journey to London takes around 94 minutes from Southampton's mainline station, which is roughly 1.5 km from the neighbourhood. Southampton 026 doesn't carry a commuter-town flag, so most residents aren't regularly making that trip.