Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 6,252 residents in Northamptonshire, East Midlands. It skews young: one resident in 6 is 15 to 24.
Overall, Oundle earns an A−, better than 83% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #5 of 31 in Northamptonshire. People here tend to be in good health: men here can expect to live to 82.6, women to 86. Prices are high against local incomes: a typical home costs £360,000 and rent runs £992 a month. The rest of its grades are middling: B for schools and B for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Oundle 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 Oundle is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 169 buildings inside Oundle’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
17% 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 1903.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Oundle.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 27% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Northamptonshire’s towns (17%) and close to England’s towns (27%). The average household earns £64K a year before tax. Nearly two in five commuters who live in Oundle also work there. Jobs per working resident: 1.3.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Both of its schools are shown below. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 48% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47. Between them, one primary and one secondary teach 1,803 pupils in Oundle.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oundle Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 387 | B− |
| Prince William SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,416 | B |
Women here live to 86 on average and men to 82.6 (2019–23). Disability touches 15% of Oundle’s population. 85% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Northamptonshire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. The nearest A&E to Oundle is Peterborough City Hospital, 10.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Oundle | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on 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.
Of Oundle’s land, 15% lies in conservation areas, above Northamptonshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. The town’s listed buildings include Berrystead, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 169 listed buildings here: 4 Grade I, 12 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
From September 2023 to August 2026, 277 homes sold inside Oundle’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £360,000. Social housing holds 15% of households, close to Northamptonshire’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (18%). 64% of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £460,000 | 137 |
| Semi-detached | £296,750 | 72 |
| Terraced | £276,250 | 50 |
| Flat or maisonette | £158,750 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 make up 16% of the town. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Northamptonshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of Oundle is older than 43.8, half younger.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Oundle | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.6% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Oundle logged 237 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 99 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence accounts for 15.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.3 reports per 1,000, higher 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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Oundle. Best known first.
CastleFotheringhay Castle4.1 km outside town, to the northeast
CastleBarnwell Castle2.2 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseLilford Hall3.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
169 listed buildings in Oundle, 4 of them Grade I.
Berrystead: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Parish Church of St Peter: Photo: Keith Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Oundle School Memorial Chapel: Photo: Ben Keating · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Town Hall: Photo: Brian Westlake · CC BY-SA 2.0
9 notable people were born in Oundle.
Ebenezer Prout: Edward Bent Walker, Public domain · Alfred Edward Taylor: Drummond Young, CC BY 3.0 · James Yorke Bramston: not identified, Public domain · John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden: after Biagio Rebecca, Public domain · Victor Branford: Henry Walter Barnett, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oundle | 6,252 | — | A− | D | B+ | A |
| Warmington | 1,045 | 3 | — | D | A | A |
| King's Cliffe | 1,581 | 5.9 | — | C− | B+ | A− |
| Brigstock | 1,436 | 6 | — | C− | B− | B |
| Thrapston | 7,239 | 6.7 | B− | C+ | B | B |
| Weldon | 3,042 | 6.8 | B− | C+ | B+ | C |
| Stilton | 2,365 | 7.6 | — | A | A− | A− |
| Castor and Ailsworth | 1,461 | 8.2 | — | C− | B | A− |
Warmington, King's Cliffe, Brigstock, Stilton and Castor and Ailsworth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 11.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Berrystead. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Police recorded 237 crimes inside Oundle’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 43% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £360,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £158,750, terraced houses £276,250, semi-detached houses £296,750 and detached houses £460,000.
Town in Northamptonshire, England
Oundle is a built-up area of 6,252 people, in the North 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.