Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The large town, home to 48,484 people, lies in Hampshire, South East.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Overall, Andover earns a B−: better than 51% of UK towns, and #56 of 76 in Hampshire. Cost of living is its strong suit: the median home sold for £295,000, 4.5 years of area income. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: just over a fifth of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Its schools fall short: primary results beat 10% of towns in England; secondary results beat 22% of towns in England. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Andover 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 Andover is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 89 buildings inside Andover’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1909.
Explore the history →Andover, Massachusetts, is named after Andover.
USUS editionAndover, Massachusetts, settled in 1642, takes its name from this large town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Andover.
Just over a fifth of households rent from a council or housing body. Private renters make up 16% of households, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%). Home ownership stands at 61% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £435,000 | 452 |
| Semi-detached | £319,000 | 545 |
| Terraced | £262,000 | 623 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,000 | 355 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Secondary results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 42.1, with 36% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 22 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 10 primary schools: 51% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 586 | C− |
| Harrow Way Community SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 992 | B− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 3,642 offences in Andover and 665 cases of nuisance behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.4 reports per 1,000, above Hampshire’s towns (5.3) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Of all the crimes, 52% were violence and sexual offences.
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 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 46% of its commuters stay in Andover for work. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.4% of 16 to 64s in 2026, about level with England’s towns (2.3%) and above Hampshire’s towns (1.9%). Household income averages £60K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
5 GP practices serve the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Andover is Royal Hampshire County Hospital, 12.2 miles away. Also worth knowing: 4.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, close to Hampshire’s towns (4.3%) and below England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Andover | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 4.3% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 5% of the total, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). Andover’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Grade I. For its size, Andover has 18 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
16% of residents have reached 65; what’s more, people aged 15 to 24 make up 10% of the town, below both Hampshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Half the people of Andover are older than 38.9. Degrees are held by 28% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Andover | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Andover. Best known first.
MuseumAndover Museumin town
ZooHawk Conservancy Trust2 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumMuseum of the Iron Agein townZooZooFinkley Down Farmin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
89 listed buildings in Andover, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Michael and All Angels: Photo: Chris Talbot · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Guildhall: Photo: Peter Glyn · CC0 · The Angel Inn: Photo: Chris Talbot · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pollen's Almshouses: Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0
38 notable people were born in Andover.
Reg Presley: Fontana Records, Public domain · Katie Piper: JaceMerlyn, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lucinda Green: Owain.davies, CC BY 3.0 · Charles Baron Clarke: Maull & Fox, Public domain · James Paine: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles Herbert Joyce: Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover | 48,484 | — | B− | A | C− | C |
| Charlton | 2,121 | 1.2 | — | A | A | A |
| Picket Piece | 2,329 | 1.6 | — | A− | C+ | C |
| Anna Valley and Upper Clatford | 1,557 | 1.8 | — | B+ | A | A− |
| Whitchurch | 5,291 | 6.2 | A | B+ | B− | A− |
| Ludgershall | 5,400 | 6.7 | C+ | A− | C | C |
| Perham Down | 1,397 | 7.2 | — | A | A+ | B− |
| Tidworth | 10,693 | 8.2 | B+ | A | B− | C+ |
Charlton, Picket Piece, Anna Valley and Upper Clatford and Perham Down have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 64% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
Band D council tax in Andover is £2,292 for 2026–27, less than in 76% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Large town in Hampshire, England
Andover is a built-up area of 48,484 people, in the Test Valley 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.