Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,998 people call this town in Gloucestershire, South West home.
A good place to live, if you can afford it. It is a safe place by the numbers (A): police record 11.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 4 home and vehicle crimes. Taken together, its subjects give South Cerney an A− overall, better than 84% of UK towns. That places it #7 of 48 in Gloucestershire. Health is a strength: men here can expect to live to 83.3, women to 84.3. Homes are dear: homes sell for a median £423,750, about 7.2 times local household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: 4.5% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS · 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 South Cerney 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 South Cerney is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 56 buildings inside South Cerney’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
11% 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 South Cerney.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 36 offences in South Cerney and 5 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 67% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 6.4 reports per 1,000, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (9.3) and 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.
Its one school is below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 48.4, and 54% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. 53% of pupils at the 7 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Edwards Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 206 | C− |
At the census, 86% of people in South Cerney called their health good or very good, above Gloucestershire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 3.7% of residents report bad or very bad health. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.2 miles away. Also worth knowing: women here live to 84.3 on average and men to 83.3 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | South Cerney | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
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.
On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 22% of commuters travelled at the census. Working mainly from home: 38% of workers, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (31%). Household income averages £66K a year before tax. Of the commuters living in South Cerney, 18% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 12% of households, below Gloucestershire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. 186 standard sales inside South Cerney’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £423,750. Private rents average £1,252 a month across the Cotswold council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £681,250 | 72 |
| Semi-detached | £380,000 | 58 |
| Terraced | £325,000 | 51 |
| Flat or maisonette | £187,000 | 5 |
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.
South Cerney’s listed buildings include the Church of All Hallows, Grade I. Scaled to its population, that is 140 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in the town. 11% of its homes were built before 1919, below Gloucestershire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
38% of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 22% of the town, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). The age that splits South Cerney in two is 44.5.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| South Cerney | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 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 South Cerney. Best known first.
Museum · English HeritageCorinium Museum3.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseCirencester Park3.5 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric siteHistoric site · English HeritageCirencester Roman Amphitheatre3.1 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionCotswold Sculpture Park2.7 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionCotswold Lakes3.5 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumCirencester Air Raid Shelter3.3 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
56 listed buildings in South Cerney, 1 of them Grade I.
Village cross at the junction of High Street and Station Road: Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Old George: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Village Hall: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Radnor: Photo: Mertbiol · CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Cerney | 3,998 | — | A− | C− | A | A |
| Ashton Keynes | 1,425 | 2.1 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Cirencester | 17,715 | 3.2 | C+ | C | C | C+ |
| Cricklade | 4,030 | 3.6 | A− | B | B+ | A− |
| Stratton | 2,558 | 4.5 | A− | C− | A | B+ |
| Purton | 3,193 | 6.5 | A | B | A− | B |
| Fairford | 4,240 | 6.6 | A | C− | A− | A− |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 7.2 | B+ | C− | B | A− |
Ashton Keynes has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of All Hallows. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £423,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £187,000, terraced houses £325,000, semi-detached houses £380,000 and detached houses £681,250.
Town in Gloucestershire, England
South Cerney is a built-up area of 3,998 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.