Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The village, home to 1,907 people, lies in Gloucestershire, South West.
Stow-on-the-Wold is easy to get around without a car: a quarter of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Schools are another plus — primary results beat 70% of towns in England. Where it falls short is cost of living (C−): homes sell for a median £448,500, about 7.6 times local household income. Hazard risk is lower than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. Below 2,500 residents there is no overall grade, so Stow-on-the-Wold has its subject grades alone.
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 Stow-on-the-Wold is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Stow-on-the-Wold does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Stow-on-the-Wold’s 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 Stow-on-the-Wold.
32% of adults hold a degree, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (34%) and England’s towns (34%). The share of residents under 15 is 8.9%. Stow-on-the-Wold has a median age of 58.2 years. Aged 15 to 24: 7.6% of residents.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Stow-on-the-Wold | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 8.9% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 39% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.2% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below is its only school. Nearly two thirds of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 91 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stow-on-the-Wold Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 91 | B− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
72% of commuters drove, below Gloucestershire’s towns (78%) and close to England’s towns (70%). For 38% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Stow-on-the-Wold, 27% work in the town itself. The average household earns £52K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Stow-on-the-Wold’s land, 23% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (9%) and England’s towns (7%). Its listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Edward, Grade I. It has 117 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 4 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Nearly a fifth of households rent from a council or housing body. Private rents average £1,252 a month across the Cotswold council area. Owners make up 67% of households, near Gloucestershire’s towns (68%) and higher than England’s towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £660,000 | 21 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 29 |
| Terraced | £460,000 | 29 |
| Flat or maisonette | £412,500 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 77% of Stow-on-the-Wold’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Gloucestershire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 5.7% of the town. The nearest A&E to Stow-on-the-Wold is Cheltenham General Hospital, 15.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Stow-on-the-Wold | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 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 12 months to August 2026 brought 37 recorded crimes inside Stow-on-the-Wold’s built-up area, and 29 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 21.1 reports per 1,000, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (9.1) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 46% of the crimes. For its size, Stow-on-the-Wold records more crime per resident than just over four fifths of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Stow-on-the-Wold. Best known first.
Historic houseSezincote House5 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumCotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection5 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionReplica Iron Age roundhouse4.5 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumThe Old Mill3.6 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Stow-on-the-Wold.
Frederic Bartlett: Bassano Ltd, Public domain
Village in Gloucestershire, England
Stow-on-the-Wold is a built-up area of 1,907 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stow-on-the-Wold | 1,907 | — | — | C− | C+ | B+ |
| Bourton-on-the-Water | 4,177 | 3.4 | A− | C− | B− | A |
| Upper Rissington | 1,999 | 3.9 | — | C | A− | A |
| Moreton-in-Marsh | 5,015 | 4.3 | C+ | C | C+ | B+ |
| Blockley | 1,069 | 6.2 | — | C− | B | A |
| Milton-under-Wychwood and Shipton-under-Wychwood | 2,956 | 6.6 | A− | C | B+ | A |
| Chipping Norton | 6,991 | 7.5 | B | B | C+ | C |
| Northleach | 1,997 | 8.6 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
Upper Rissington, Blockley and Northleach have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 25.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Edward. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £448,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £412,500, terraced houses £460,000, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £660,000.
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.