Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,600 people live in this town in Buckinghamshire, South East. Over-65s are 25% of the population.
A strong record with one exception. Its best grade is for health: men here can expect to live to 81.7, women to 86. It also does well on jobs & income — households earn a mean £70,722 a year, and 1.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Housing is expensive: a typical home costs £409,000 and rent runs £1,344 a month. Overall, that makes an A−, good for #20 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. That leaves it better than 81% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety, B for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Olney does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Olney is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 115 buildings inside Olney’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
19% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Olney.
Men in Olney can expect to live to 81.7, women to 86 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Olney is Milton Keynes Hospital, 9.1 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; nearly nine in ten patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Olney | Buckinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
63% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 598 pupils attend Olney’s two primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olney Middle SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 349 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Olney’s listed buildings include the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 115 listed buildings locally: 1 Grade I, 4 Grade II*. Homes from before 1919 make up 19% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 are 9% of the population. Children under 15 make up 17%, lower than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Olney has a median age of 47.6. Among adults, 44% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Olney | Buckinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 4.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 44% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Buckinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 79% of commuters, about level with Buckinghamshire’s towns (78%) and above England’s towns (70%). 22% of commuters who live in Olney also work there. For every resident in work, Olney has 0.7 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Owners make up 70% of households, higher than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Council and housing-body homes hold 7% of households. Just over a fifth of households are private tenants.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £550,000 | 195 |
| Semi-detached | £349,995 | 83 |
| Terraced | £308,000 | 100 |
| Flat or maisonette | £235,000 | 54 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 286 recorded crimes inside Olney’s built-up area, and 24 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 47% of the total. Burglary and damage came to 7.5 per 1,000 residents a year, below Buckinghamshire’s towns (8.6) and England’s towns (9.4) alike.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Olney. Best known first.
CastleLavendon Castle3.1 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseTurvey House4.6 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
115 listed buildings in Olney, 1 of them Grade I.
The Vicarage Including Attached Coachhouse: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gilpin House Orchard Side Cowper and Newton Museum: Photo: A J Paxton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Swan Inn: Photo: PAUL FARMER · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bridge House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
4 notable people were born in Olney.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olney | 6,600 | — | A− | C | B | A |
| Lavendon | 1,469 | 2.1 | — | C | B+ | A− |
| Bozeat | 2,166 | 4.7 | — | C+ | A | B− |
| Newport Pagnell | 15,250 | 5.1 | B | B− | B− | B |
| Harrold | 1,668 | 5.2 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
| Hanslope | 2,161 | 6 | — | C+ | C | A− |
| Hartwell | 1,493 | 6.1 | — | B− | C+ | B− |
| Cogenhoe | 1,475 | 6.6 | — | C+ | A | A |
Lavendon, Bozeat, Harrold, Hanslope, Hartwell and Cogenhoe have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £409,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £235,000, terraced houses £308,000, semi-detached houses £349,995 and detached houses £550,000.
Town in Buckinghamshire, England
Olney is a built-up area of 6,600 people, in the Milton Keynes council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
