Alveston’s story
9 listed buildings
Historic England lists them inside Alveston’s built-up area.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
AlvestonGloucestershire
The village, home to 2,065 people, lies in Gloucestershire, South West.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
Population
2,065
Census 2021 · South Gloucestershire council
Median home
£410K
72 sales in 3 years
Median age
53.4
34% are 65+ · Gloucestershire 20%
Degree level
38%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
10%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Alveston a good place to live?
Residents are healthier than most (A): life expectancy is 84.3 for men and 86.7 for women. Households here earn well: mean household income £67,700; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is cost of living (D) — the median home sold for £410,000, 6.8 years of area income. Most journeys need a car: on the way to work, 10% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Alveston is graded subject by subject only.
How Alveston grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Alveston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
HealthAmong the healthiest places comparedAOpen →Jobs & incomeIn the top fifth of the towns comparedAOpen →Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →Cost of livingRent £1,464 a monthDOpen →WalkabilityGraded on how easily people get around without a carC−Open →SchoolsPrimary results beat 56% of towns in England; secondary results beat 66% of towns in EnglandBOpen →SafetyMore crime than in most townsC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
HistoryBehind most towns comparedCOpen →Outdoors100% live within 400 m of a park; 2.5 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsBOpen →Civic life2.4 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryCOpen →
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Alveston stand out
The 3 things Alveston does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
10% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
34% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
Life expectancy, against UK towns
Health
86.7 and 84.3 years
OHID Fingertips, 2019–23.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Alveston.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Alveston: 34% are 65 or over, above Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns
53.4median age
Line up the people of Alveston by age and the one in the middle is 53.4. Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). 7.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
AlvestonGloucestershireEngland
Ages · share of residents
34%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications14%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level38%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Alveston | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Health
Life expectancy in Alveston is longer than in 96% of UK towns
81%good or very good healthAHealth Grade
20% of residents have a disability, above Gloucestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. Alveston has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.3 miles away. The nearest A&E to Alveston is Southmead Hospital, 7 miles away.
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 81%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 4%
| Census 2021 | Alveston | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
84.3
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
86.7
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
HousingCost of living grade D
More households own their home in Alveston than in Gloucestershire’s towns or across England’s towns: 83%
£410Kmedian sale
9% live in social housing, below both Gloucestershire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). Private renters make up 8% of households. The median sale, £410,000, comes from 72 standard sales inside Alveston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Alveston£410K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £492,500 | 32 |
| Semi-detached | £395,000 | 21 |
| Terraced | £300,000 | 13 |
| Flat or maisonette | £195,000 | 6 |
83%
of households own their home · England 61%
8%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,464
average private rent a month, South Gloucestershire council area
£2,501
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Only 26% of Alveston’s commuters work within 5 km, fewer than in both Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns
10%walk, cycle or ride
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 nearly nine in ten commuters travelled at the census. Working mainly from home: 43% of workers, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (31%). Also worth knowing: the 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.5%. Of the commuters living in Alveston, 2% work in the town itself.
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving89%
On foot6%
Bus2%
Bicycle1%
26%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
43%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£68K
mean household income, before tax
1.5%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C−
Walkability: more walkable than 22% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
Alveston’s listed buildings: 9, all Grade II
9listed buildingsCHistory Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes built before 1919 account for 13% of the housing. Relative to its size, Alveston keeps 44 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II9
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
13%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
44
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Violent crime runs high in Alveston: 29.9 per 1,000 residents a year, above Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns
29.9violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC+Safety Grade
Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Alveston has more crime per resident than four fifths of them. The town logged 86 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 13 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 60% of recorded crime.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 20% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual52
Public order8
Other theft6
Burglary6
Vehicle crime6
Other crime4
Damage & arson3
Drugs1
Anti-social13
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.
29.9
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
5.7
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
86
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Alveston
15pages on Alveston
The big questions
SafetyC+29.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingDMedian home £410K · rent £1,464 a monthHousing29 sold in 12 months · busiest street Quarry RoadSchoolsBHealthALife expectancy 84.3 (men), 86.7 (women)Work & commuteA57% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Thornbury Castle and 3 more in and around Alveston
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Alveston. Best known first.
CastleThornbury Castle2 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseActon Court4.9 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumThornbury and District Museum1.2 km outside town, to the northWater parkWater parkWest Country Water Park4.5 km outside town, to the southPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Thornbury Castle: nick sarebi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Acton Court: Nick from Bristol, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
About Alveston
Village in Gloucestershire, England
Alveston is a built-up area of 2,065 people, in the South Gloucestershire 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
- Population
- 2,065 (Census 2021)
- Council
- South Gloucestershire
- County
- Gloucestershire
- Region
- South West
- Area
- 0.4 sq mi (1.1 km²)
- ONS code
- E63004810
Alveston’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
ThornburyOlvestonAlmondsburyBradley StokePatchwayFrampton Cotterell and WinterbournePilningAlveston
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveston | 2,065 | — | — | D | C+ | A |
| Thornbury | 14,483 | 1.7 | B− | C− | C+ | B |
| Olveston | 1,009 | 1.9 | — | D | A+ | A |
| Almondsbury | 2,937 | 2.6 | B− | D | B | B |
| Bradley Stoke | 25,194 | 3.9 | A− | C | B− | A− |
| Patchway | 16,517 | 4.5 | C | C | D− | C− |
| Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne | 14,969 | 4.9 | A− | D | B | A− |
| Pilning | 1,400 | 5 | — | C | A− | B− |
Olveston and Pilning have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Alveston
Is Alveston expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £410,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £195,000, terraced houses £300,000, semi-detached houses £395,000 and detached houses £492,500.
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.