Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,889: a town in Hampshire, South East.
Kingsclere’s best grade is for health: men here can expect to live to 82.2, women to 86. Work and incomes are strong (A−): households earn a mean £75,642 a year, and 2.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Homes sell for a median £405,000, about 6 years of what households in the Basingstoke and Deane council area earn. The overall grade lands at A−, #35 of 76 in Hampshire. It comes out better than 81% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety, C+ for schools, B− for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Kingsclere 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 Kingsclere is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 79 buildings inside Kingsclere’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
20% 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 Kingsclere.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 20% of homes were built. Kingsclere has 79 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 26% lies in conservation areas, above both Hampshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsclere Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | B− |
There is no GP practice in Kingsclere: the nearest is 4.7 miles off. At the census, 3.7% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Hampshire’s towns (4.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Kingsclere is Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, 6.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Kingsclere | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Owners make up 70% of households, above Hampshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. 115 standard sales inside Kingsclere’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £405,000. Private rents average £1,309 a month across the Basingstoke and Deane council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £615,000 | 37 |
| Semi-detached | £416,000 | 29 |
| Terraced | £323,750 | 38 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Half of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 129 crimes and 13 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Kingsclere’s built-up area. There were 4.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Hampshire’s towns (5.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
About a tenth of its commuters stay in Kingsclere for work. Driving is how 84% of commuters got to work at the census. Working mainly from home: 38% of workers, above both Hampshire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (31%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 14% of commuters travelled at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.5% of residents. People 65 and over make up 25% of the town, above both Hampshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Kingsclere has a median age of 49.1 years.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Kingsclere | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
79 listed buildings in Kingsclere.
20, Swan Street: Photo: Oscar Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · George and Horne Public House: Photo: Sandy B · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Olde Forge: Photo: Oscar Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Methodist Chapel: Photo: Basher Eyre · CC BY-SA 2.0
6 notable people were born in Kingsclere.
Joseph Spence: George Vertue, after Isaac Whood, Public domain · Clare Balding: Keith Page, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsclere | 2,889 | — | A− | B+ | B | A− |
| Tadley | 14,767 | 4.7 | A | A− | B | B |
| Thatcham | 25,537 | 5.3 | B | B+ | C+ | B− |
| Overton | 4,350 | 5.8 | A+ | B+ | B | A |
| Newbury | 42,262 | 5.9 | B | B | C− | B− |
| Oakley | 5,264 | 6.1 | A+ | B− | A− | A+ |
| Upper Bucklebury | 1,036 | 6.2 | — | C | B− | A |
| Woolton Hill and Highclere | 2,755 | 6.2 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ |
Upper Bucklebury has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 11.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £405,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £165,000, terraced houses £323,750, semi-detached houses £416,000 and detached houses £615,000. Household incomes are higher than in 96% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Band D council tax in Kingsclere is £2,309 for 2026–27, less than in 74% 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.
Town in Hampshire, England
Kingsclere is a built-up area of 2,889 people, in the Basingstoke and Deane 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.