A coastal city has been identified as having the second-highest rate of sexually transmitted infections among university towns in England, according to research published this week.
The analysis examined official public health records and found that the city recorded 859 new STI diagnoses per 100,000 residents during the 2025 measurement period.
This figure placed it second in a ranking of 60 university towns, trailing only Manchester, which documented 924 infections per 100,000 people.
Manchester overtook the coastal city in the rankings, having previously occupied the second position in the previous year.
The northern city’s rate of new infections rose by 2.5 percent compared with the prior measurement period.
Despite moving down the rankings, the city experienced a 6.7 percent decline in its overall STI diagnosis rate.
The research, conducted by the Erobella sexual health analytics team using figures from the UK Health Security Agency, identified the city as having the highest rate of syphilis among all university towns nationally.
The city recorded 41.2 syphilis cases per 100,000 residents, a figure approximately three times the national average.
Among local authority areas outside London, the city ranked second for syphilis prevalence, trailing only Blackpool.
The study evaluated every English council district containing a principal university campus, encompassing 60 administrative areas and 93 higher education institutions.
Researchers noted that the data encompasses infections diagnosed across entire resident populations and is not confined to student communities.
The findings arrived as thousands of students prepared to commence studies at the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton for the new academic year, with Freshers’ Week activities scheduled across both campuses.
The research established that eight of the ten districts with the highest STI rates outside the capital contained main university campuses, indicating a correlation between substantial student populations and elevated infection diagnosis figures.
However, the report’s authors emphasized that diagnostic rates can be substantially affected by the extent of testing programmes and the availability of sexual health services in different areas.
Regions conducting more comprehensive screening typically identify greater numbers of infections.
Brenda Jensen, who leads data and research operations at Erobella, noted that university towns typically have younger and more socially active populations, making elevated STI rates unsurprising.
She indicated that the quality of data lies in its specificity, with some higher-ranking towns also being those with the most extensive testing coverage.
According to Jensen, increased identification of infections represents the function of an effective sexual health service.
The national STI diagnosis rate stood at 441 per 100,000 residents in 2025.
This means the city’s figure approached double the England average.
The researchers observed that despite local variations, the national picture demonstrated positive movement, with England’s overall rate declining and showing a reduction of 25 percent since 2019.