Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,078 people live in this town in Gloucestershire, South West.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Residents are healthier than most (A+): men here can expect to live to 82.7, women to 86.8. Households here earn well: mean household income £64,534; 1.1% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Homes are dear: a typical home costs £440,000 and rent runs £1,237 a month. It also trails on hazard risk: 1.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. All told, that adds up to an A overall, better than 86% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #4 of 48 in Gloucestershire.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Gloucestershire Police published 29 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Prestbury 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 Prestbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 66 buildings inside Prestbury’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
12% 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 Prestbury.
Degrees are held by half of adults, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (34%) and England’s towns (34%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 6.4% of the town. Ages in Prestbury split evenly at 51.1: half are older, half younger.
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.
| Prestbury | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 50% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Self-reported good health: 85% of Prestbury’s residents. 3.8% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (4.5%) and England’s towns (5.2%). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 0.6 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Prestbury | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Social housing holds 7% of households. 83% of households own their home, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (68%) and England’s towns (61%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 218 homes sold inside Prestbury’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £440,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £625,000 | 89 |
| Semi-detached | £415,000 | 81 |
| Terraced | £340,000 | 23 |
| Flat or maisonette | £215,000 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violent crime ran at 10.9 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Gloucestershire’s towns (23) and England’s towns (22). 46 crimes and 21 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Prestbury’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Per 1,000 residents, 6.8 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Prestbury has less crime per resident than 93% of them.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 18% of Prestbury’s land, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (9%) and England’s towns (7%). This Gloucestershire town counts 66 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 2 Grade II*. Just over one in ten homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · 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.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 55%, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (45%); what’s more, just over four in five commuters drove to work at the census. Work in town: 3% of resident commuters. Jobs per working resident: 0.7.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Prestbury. Best known first.
MuseumThe Wilson1.7 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseWhittington Court4.4 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumBritish Steeplechasing Hall of Fame500 m outside town, to the westHistoric siteHistoric site · English HeritageBelas Knap Long Barrow3.9 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionPittville Gates1.1 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumHolst Victorian House1.1 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
66 listed buildings in Prestbury.
Francis Kemmet(T) Monument in the Churchyard of the Church of St Mary Circa 3 Metres North of North Aisle: Photo: griffp · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Plough Inn: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Bakery Stores: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Home Farmhouse and Attached Stableblock: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prestbury | 4,078 | — | A | D | A | A+ |
| Cheltenham | 115,941 | 2.2 | B− | C | C− | B− |
| Bishop's Cleeve | 16,323 | 2.6 | A | B+ | B | A− |
| Gotherington | 1,131 | 3.5 | — | C+ | A | A |
| Winchcombe | 4,339 | 4.3 | A− | B− | A− | A |
| Shurdington | 1,888 | 4.6 | — | B | B+ | B− |
| Churchdown | 13,480 | 6.4 | A− | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Ashchurch | 1,102 | 6.4 | — | B+ | A | B |
Gotherington, Shurdington and Ashchurch have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 6.6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Police recorded 46 crimes inside Prestbury’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 41% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £440,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £215,000, terraced houses £340,000, semi-detached houses £415,000 and detached houses £625,000.
Town in Gloucestershire, England
Prestbury is a built-up area of 4,078 people, in the Cheltenham 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.