Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,528 in Buckinghamshire, South East.
Princes Risborough grades B+ overall against UK towns: better than 70% of UK towns, and #25 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. Its strongest subject is health (A−): life expectancy 82 for men, 87.4 for women. Its weakest is schools (C+): primary results beat 38% of towns in England; secondary results beat 40% of towns in England. The median home sold for £435,000 in the last three years, 6.2 times what households in the Buckinghamshire council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Princes Risborough 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 Princes Risborough is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 59 buildings inside Princes Risborough’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
7% 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 Princes Risborough.
Children under 15 make up 15%, below both Buckinghamshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%); what’s more, people aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town. Princes Risborough has a median age of 49. Also worth knowing: among adults, 39% have a degree.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Princes Risborough | Buckinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 4.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Buckinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Some 1,523 pupils attend Princes Risborough’s two primaries and one secondary. Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 43.8, with 44% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princes Risborough Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 224 | B− |
| Princes Risborough SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,083 | C+ |
Men in Princes Risborough can expect to live to 82, women to 87.4 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Princes Risborough is Stoke Mandeville Hospital, 5.2 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; just over three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Princes Risborough | Buckinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
By car: that was how 79% of commuters travelled at the census. Households had £65K a year before tax, below Buckinghamshire’s towns (£72K) but above England’s towns (£55K). About 17% of its commuters stay in Princes Risborough for work. The town counts 0.8 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
71% of households own their home, higher than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,475 a month across the Buckinghamshire council area. The £435,000 median rests on 375 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £655,000 | 97 |
| Semi-detached | £460,000 | 143 |
| Terraced | £395,500 | 38 |
| Flat or maisonette | £280,000 | 97 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 7% of the total. Princes Risborough’s listed buildings include the Church of St Dunstan, Grade I. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 5 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Reported offences in Princes Risborough came to 346 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 58. Of all the crimes, 49% were violence and sexual offences. There were 7.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than Buckinghamshire’s towns (4) and near England’s towns (7.8).
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 Princes Risborough. Best known first.
Historic houseChequers2.7 km outside town, to the northeast
FortCymbeline's Castle2.4 km outside town, to the northeast
Heritage railwayChinnor and Princes Risborough Railway3.9 km outside town, to the southwestPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustPulpit Hill Nature Reserve1.5 km outside town, to the northeastFortFortPulpit Hill Fort1.5 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionSt Mary Magdalen3.2 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
59 listed buildings in Princes Risborough, 1 of them Grade I.
Market House: Photo: Alan Simkins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Peter J.StB.Green · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The George and Dragon: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Signal Box: Photo: Geof Sheppard · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princes Risborough | 7,528 | — | B+ | C+ | C+ | A− |
| Longwick | 1,528 | 1.5 | — | C | A− | A |
| Lacey Green and Loosley Row | 1,135 | 2.2 | — | C | A+ | A |
| Chinnor | 7,268 | 3.9 | A− | B− | A− | A |
| Walter's Ash and Naphill | 3,893 | 4.2 | A+ | C | A+ | A+ |
| Prestwood and Great Missenden | 7,600 | 4.7 | A | C | B− | A+ |
| Stoke Mandeville | 2,855 | 4.8 | B+ | C | C | B+ |
| Wendover | 8,729 | 5.1 | A | C | A− | A+ |
Longwick and Lacey Green and Loosley Row have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Dunstan. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £435,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £280,000, terraced houses £395,500, semi-detached houses £460,000 and detached houses £655,000.
About the middle for its size: 55% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 9 reports in the year.
Town in Buckinghamshire, England
Princes Risborough is a built-up area of 7,528 people, in the Buckinghamshire 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.