Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 23% of the population. This town in Gloucestershire, South West has a population of 17,715.
Strong in places, weak in others. With a C+ overall, Cirencester is better than 42% of UK towns and ranks #34 of 48 in Gloucestershire. The weak point is safety — 34.1 violent and sexual offences and 10.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 49%. Hazard risk is weaker too — 4.6% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Buying the median home, at £345,000, takes 5.9 years of household income in the Cotswold council area. It is easy to get around without a car: 26% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for schools, C+ for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Gloucestershire Police published 29 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 2 things Cirencester 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 Cirencester is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 326 buildings inside Cirencester’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I, and 4 scheduled monuments.
16% 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 Cirencester.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For 52% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 72% of commuters drove, below Gloucestershire’s towns (78%) and close to England’s towns (70%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 2.8%. About 45% of its commuters stay in Cirencester for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 56% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 49.9. Of its 7 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. 55% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 421 | A |
| Cirencester Kingshill SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 806 | B+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cirencester’s listed buildings include the Church of St John Baptist and attached railings and gates, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Cirencester counts 184 listed buildings, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (89) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 27 of them, Grade I 3.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Cirencester split evenly at 45.5: half are older, half younger. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 11% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Cirencester | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 658 recorded crimes inside Cirencester’s built-up area, and 163 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 23.7 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (9.1) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 38% of the crimes.
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.
57% of households own their home, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (68%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,252 a month across the Cotswold council area. The median sale, £345,000, comes from 785 standard sales inside Cirencester’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £605,000 | 137 |
| Semi-detached | £392,000 | 171 |
| Terraced | £332,750 | 302 |
| Flat or maisonette | £186,750 | 175 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Women here live to 82.9 on average and men to 79 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Cirencester is Cheltenham General Hospital, 13.2 miles away. 3 GP practices serve the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Cirencester | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cirencester. Best known first.
Historic houseCirencester Parkin town
Museum · English HeritageCorinium Museumin townHistoric siteHistoric site · English HeritageCirencester Roman Amphitheatrein townMuseumMuseumCirencester Air Raid Shelterin townAttractionAttractionCotswold Sculpture Park3.9 km outside town, to the southWater parkWater parkAquaventure3.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
326 listed buildings in Cirencester, 3 of them Grade I.
Cirencester Park: Photo: Roger May · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hospital of St John: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Railway Station: Photo: Ben Brooksbank · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lock Up in Grounds of Cotswold District Council Offices: Photo: OrangeStarling1997 · CC BY-SA 4.0
45 notable people were born in Cirencester.
Cozy Powell: Geffen Records, Public domain · Kate Fleetwood: Kit Nicho, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet: Engraver Charles Turner, Public domain · Caleb Hillier Parry: Philip Audinet, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cirencester | 17,715 | — | C+ | C | C | C+ |
| Stratton | 2,558 | 1.4 | A− | C− | A | B+ |
| South Cerney | 3,998 | 3.2 | A− | C− | A | A |
| Ashton Keynes | 1,425 | 4.9 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Cricklade | 4,030 | 6.7 | A− | B | B+ | A− |
| Fairford | 4,240 | 7.8 | A | C− | A− | A− |
| Chalford | 6,665 | 8.5 | A | B− | A | A |
| Avening | 1,054 | 9.2 | — | C− | A | A |
Ashton Keynes and Avening have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of St John Baptist and attached railings and gates. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Town in Gloucestershire, England
Cirencester is a built-up area of 17,715 people, in the Cotswold 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.