Living in Guildford

Police recorded 75 crimes per 1,000 residents in Guildford in the year to April 2026, below the average of 82 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Homes sell for a median of about £5,692 per m², well above the typical council in England and Wales (£3,342). 12.7% of households rent from the council or a housing association, below the UK average of 17.5%. About 8.3% of homes are in areas where road or rail noise reaches 65 dB, against 6.9% across Great Britain. 51% of homes are within a five-minute walk of a public park (Great Britain: 56%).

Guildford at a glance

Guildford compared with the rest of the country. Crime rates are per resident; see each section below for sources and periods.
MeasureGuildfordComparisonRank
Social housing (share of households)12.7%UK 17.5%269th highest of 374
Recorded crime per 1,000 residents75E, W & NI 82145th highest of 327
Anti-social behaviour per 1,000 residents13E, W & NI 16
Homes in areas with 65 dB+ road or rail noise8.3%GB 6.9%304th quietest of 363
Homes within 400 m of a public park51%GB 56%188th of 363
Homes within 400 m of a play space51%GB 60%
Median house price per m²£5,692E&W council median £3,34231st highest of 314
Schools rated Good or Outstanding88%E&W 87%
Median broadband speed available1,000 Mbit/sCouncil median 1,000 Mbit/s

How much crime is there in Guildford?

From May 2025 to April 2026, police recorded 10,724 crimes in Guildford — 75 per 1,000 residents, below the average of 82 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the 145th highest of 327 councils. That is 2% more than in the previous 12 months. The most common offences were violence and sexual offences (43%), public order (11%) and shoplifting (11%). Police also logged 1,932 incidents of anti-social behaviour (13 per 1,000 residents).

Rates are per resident, so council areas with busy city centres, shopping or nightlife districts show higher rates than residents alone would suggest. See where crime is recorded on the map →

How much social housing is there in Guildford?

12.7%Social housing
7,069Social homes
55,801All households

Guildford ranks 269th of 374 UK local authorities by social-housing share. Of its 55,801 households, 7,069 are social homes (12.7%) — renting from the council or a housing association, according to the 2021–22 Census.

Guildford12.7%
UK average17.5%

How does Guildford compare with the UK average?

At -4.8 percentage points versus the UK average of 17.5%, Guildford sits below the national level.

Open the Guildford social housing map →

How noisy is Guildford?

In Guildford, about 8.3% of homes are in areas where modelled road or rail noise reaches 65 dB Lden or more — the level Defra and the WHO treat as high. The Great Britain average is 6.9%, and Guildford is the 304th quietest of 363 councils mapped.

Estimated from the official strategic noise maps: the share of each census area at 65 dB or more, weighted by its households. See noisy roads and railways on the map →

How close are parks in Guildford?

51% of homes in Guildford are within 400 m — about a five-minute walk — of a public park or garden, and 51% are that close to a children's play space. Across Great Britain the figures are 56% and 60%, which puts Guildford 188th of 363 councils for access to a park.

Straight-line distance from the centre of each census area to the edge of the nearest site in OS Open Greenspace, weighted by households. See parks and play spaces on the map →

Schools, prices and more in Guildford

What the map's other datasets say about Guildford.

Schools

On the Department for Education's register, Guildford has 65 schools — 51 state-funded and 14 independent. That includes 36 primary and 7 secondary schools. Of the 16 with a published Ofsted grade, 88% are Good or Outstanding.

Nurseries

There are 90 nurseries and pre-schools on Ofsted's childcare register in Guildford, offering about 3,756 registered childcare places. Childminders are not counted — Ofsted withholds their addresses.

Deprivation

The median neighbourhood in Guildford sits in decile 9 of 10 on its nation's deprivation index, and 1% of its 84 neighbourhoods fall in the most-deprived national fifth.

House prices

The median neighbourhood price is about £5,692 per m², from Land Registry sold prices matched to EPC floor areas.

Broadband

Median available download speed is about 1,000 Mbit/s — what can be ordered, not what residents have bought (Ofcom Connected Nations).

Explore Guildford on the map

Areas with a similar share of social housing

“Social housing” means households renting from a council/local authority or a housing association, counted on census day (2021 in England, Wales & Northern Ireland; 2022 in Scotland). Local-authority figures are aggregated by this site from small-area data and may differ from official totals. Crime rates use Census 2021 population (NISRA mid-2021 estimates in Northern Ireland) and exclude crimes police.uk publishes without a location. All sources are open data under the Open Government Licence v3.0; see the methodology.
Sources: 2021–22 Census (social housing); data.police.uk, May 2025 to April 2026 (crime); strategic noise maps, Round 4 (noise); OS Open Greenspace (parks) · Page updated 27 September 2026 · Download the data (CSV, all 374 councils).