Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The village has 2,208 residents and lies in Gloucestershire, South West. 14% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy 80.9 for men, 84.9 for women. Its schools beat most (B+): primary results beat 64% of towns in England. Buying in is costly (C−): a typical home costs £475,000 and rent runs £1,252 a month. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for safety, B for jobs & income, B− for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency. Lechlade-on-Thames is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
Gloucestershire Police published 29 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Lechlade-on-Thames is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Lechlade-on-Thames is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Lechlade-on-Thames does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Lechlade-on-Thames’ built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
17% 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 Lechlade-on-Thames.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them. Lechlade-on-Thames’s listed buildings include the Church of St Lawrence, Grade I. It has 101 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I. Of Lechlade-on-Thames’ land, 24% lies in conservation areas, above Gloucestershire’s towns (9%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its one school is below. 151 pupils attend Lechlade-on-Thames’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Lawrence Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 151 | B− |
Social housing holds 19% of households, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of the 101 standard sales inside Lechlade-on-Thames’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £475,000. Nearly two thirds of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £550,000 | 45 |
| Semi-detached | £380,000 | 14 |
| Terraced | £317,500 | 38 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Lechlade-on-Thames has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.5 miles away. The nearest A&E to Lechlade-on-Thames is Great Western Hospital, 11.2 miles away. Also worth knowing: women here live to 84.9 on average and men to 80.9 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Lechlade-on-Thames | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 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.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.7 reports per 1,000, above Gloucestershire’s towns (9.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Police figures for Lechlade-on-Thames’s built-up area: 46 crimes and 12 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 35% 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
83% of commuters drove, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%). For every resident in work, Lechlade-on-Thames has 0.4 jobs. Work in town: just over a tenth of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% are under 15, below both Gloucestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%), and on top of that people aged 15 to 24 are 7.8% of the population. Residents of Lechlade-on-Thames have a median age of 51.5. Graduates make up 41% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Lechlade-on-Thames | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Lechlade-on-Thames. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustBuscot House3.6 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseKelmscott Manor3.3 km outside town, to the east
MuseumSwinford Museum4 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Village in Gloucestershire, England
Lechlade-on-Thames is a built-up area of 2,208 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lechlade-on-Thames | 2,208 | — | — | C− | B− | A− |
| Fairford | 4,240 | 3.8 | A | C− | A− | A− |
| Highworth | 7,932 | 4.7 | B+ | B− | B+ | B |
| Faringdon | 8,625 | 5.5 | B | B+ | C | B |
| Carterton | 17,951 | 6.2 | B+ | B+ | B | B |
| Bampton | 2,994 | 6.7 | B | B− | B | A− |
| Shrivenham and Watchfield | 5,353 | 7 | B | B | C+ | A |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 7.5 | B+ | C− | B | A− |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 18.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Lawrence. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £475,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £317,500, semi-detached houses £380,000 and detached houses £550,000.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 68% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people report less. Against all UK towns, it grades B−. Burglary was rare, with 3 reports in the year.
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.