Pennsylvania & University
Exeter 001 · 5 sub-areas · 12,388 residents
Exeter 001 is a residential stretch of Exeter, home to around 12,400 people and one of the more affordable pockets of a city that's grown sharply in recent years. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for around £1,125 a month, and the area scores highly on deprivation measures, sitting in the least-deprived tenth of neighbourhoods in England.
Pennsylvania & University is a mid-density neighbourhood of Exeter in the South West 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. A high share of adults are degree-educated, which often shows up in the kind of jobs people commute to.
Overview
What's it like to live in Pennsylvania & University?
3 parks are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; 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 £1,312 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.
Pennsylvania & University in Exeter
Living in Pennsylvania & University
What marks Exeter 001 out within Exeter is its combination of family density and relative affordability. Nearly three in ten residents are under 18 — a notably high share for an urban neighbourhood — which gives the area a settled, domestic feel rather than the student-heavy character of parts of the city closer to the university. Greenspace is within easy reach, with the nearest park or open space roughly 420 metres away on average.
On rent, Exeter 001 sits below the national 2-bed benchmark of around £1,200 a month. A one-bedroom flat runs about £910, a two-bed around £1,125, and a three-bed around £1,350. That's genuinely reasonable by South West standards, though it comes with a caveat: rents here rose around 2% over the past year, and the rent-to-take-home ratio is still a hefty 65%, reflecting the gap between local wages and housing costs.
The neighbourhood skews younger overall — just over a third of residents are aged 18–34 — but the 35–49 cohort is unusually thin at under 10%, suggesting that many families with school-age children are owner-occupiers who've been here a while rather than renters cycling through. Owner-occupation is high at around 76%, which is well above what you'd typically see in an urban neighbourhood of this size.
Practically, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1,400 metres away. Around 43% of residents work from home, which is striking and shapes the neighbourhood's daytime character; the streets aren't emptied out during the day. Car use for commuting runs at around 36%, while just 4% rely on public transport, so if you're car-free, check your specific address carefully. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on how conditions vary across Exeter 001.
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Frequently asked
- Is Exeter 001 a nice place to live?
- For families and owner-occupiers, it's a genuinely appealing area — low crime, lots of greenspace nearby, and a settled residential feel. The school Ofsted picture is weaker than you'd hope, and the rent-to-income ratio is still stretched at around 65%, but deprivation scores put it among the least deprived neighbourhoods in England, which counts for a lot day to day.
- What is the rent in Exeter 001?
- These figures are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices. A one-bed runs around £910 a month, a two-bed around £1,125, and a three-bed around £1,353. The two-bed figure is below the UK national median of roughly £1,200.
- Is Exeter 001 safe?
- Yes, by most measures. The crime rate runs at around 31 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — roughly a third of the UK national average of about 80 per 1,000. Combined with its position in the least-deprived tenth of English neighbourhoods, it's a reassuringly calm area for families and people relocating from higher-crime cities.
- What's the commute from Exeter 001 to Exeter city centre?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 1,400 metres away. For the city centre itself, most residents drive (about 36%) or work from home (nearly 43%). Public transport use is low at just 4%, so if you're relying on buses, check your specific route before moving.
- Who lives in Exeter 001?
- A mix of younger renters aged 18–34 and established owner-occupying families — the under-18 share is notably high at 29%, pointing to plenty of households with children. Owner-occupation runs at around 76%, which is high for an urban neighbourhood. The 35–49 age group is thin, which gives the area an unusual two-tier character.
- What schools are near Exeter 001?
- There are 34 schools within a typical 2km catchment distance, so choice isn't the issue. The challenge is quality: only around 6% of nearby schools are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding school is about 6.8 km away, so it's worth researching individual schools carefully rather than assuming proximity equals quality.
- How long does it take to get to London from Exeter 001?
- The rail journey to London takes just under two hours and 21 minutes by public transport from the nearest mainline station, which is roughly 1,400 metres away. It's not a practical daily commute to London, but manageable for occasional trips.