Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 4,127: a town in Northamptonshire, East Midlands.
A solid town with one catch. Its strongest is safety — 13.4 violent and sexual offences and 4.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Jobs & income is a strength too: the mean household earns £61,718 a year. Homes are dear (C): the median home sold for £375,000, 6.7 years of area income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of #4 of 31 in Northamptonshire. Set against the rest, it does better than 86% of UK towns.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Middleton Cheney 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 Middleton Cheney is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 39 buildings inside Middleton Cheney’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
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 Middleton Cheney.
Police recorded 96 crimes inside Middleton Cheney’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 41 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 53% were violence and sexual offences. Also worth knowing: there were 7 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Northamptonshire’s towns (9.5) 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.
At the 4 primary schools within 3 km, 61% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its two schools are listed below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 50.2, and 54% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleton Cheney Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 322 | B+ |
| Chenderit SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,104 | B+ |
85% of people in Middleton Cheney rate their own health good or very good. Seeing a GP means leaving Middleton Cheney: the nearest practice is 2.2 miles away. Women here live to 84.5 on average and men to 81.7 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Middleton Cheney | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 16% | 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.
12% of households rent from a council or housing body. Private renters make up 10% of households, lower than both Northamptonshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Middleton Cheney is the second most expensive of the 31 towns in Northamptonshire, at £375,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £450,000 | 91 |
| Semi-detached | £310,000 | 53 |
| Terraced | £309,975 | 28 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 87% of commuters, above Northamptonshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. 33% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Of the commuters living in Middleton Cheney, 9% work in the town itself. Among 16 to 64s, 1.7% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
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.
For its size, Middleton Cheney has 95 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Northamptonshire’s towns (82) and England’s towns (39). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of All Saints, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 11% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Middleton Cheney has a median age of 46. Children under 15 make up 17%, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Degrees are held by 32% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Middleton Cheney | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.6% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
39 listed buildings in Middleton Cheney, 1 of them Grade I.
The Dolphin Inn: Photo: Ian Rob · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Springfield House: Photo: Philip Jeffrey · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Brasenose Cottage: Photo: Roger Templeman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The New Inn: Photo: Bikeboy · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleton Cheney | 4,127 | — | A | C | A | B+ |
| Banbury | 52,041 | 3.2 | C+ | B | D | C |
| Kings Sutton | 2,306 | 3.3 | — | C | A− | A− |
| Bodicote | 4,752 | 3.3 | A− | C+ | B+ | A |
| Adderbury and Twyford | 3,318 | 4 | B+ | C− | A | A− |
| Brackley | 16,180 | 5.7 | B+ | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Croughton | 1,200 | 5.9 | — | C− | A+ | A− |
| Bloxham | 3,681 | 6 | B+ | C | B− | A |
Kings Sutton and Croughton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of All Saints.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £375,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £309,975, semi-detached houses £310,000 and detached houses £450,000.
Town in Northamptonshire, England
Middleton Cheney is a built-up area of 4,127 people, in the West Northamptonshire 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.