Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a large town of 33,179 residents in Oxfordshire, South East.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: on the way to work, 27% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Overall, Abingdon-on-Thames earns an A−, better than 79% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #17 of 38 in Oxfordshire. Work and incomes are strong (A−): households earn a mean £65,304 a year, and 2.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. What counts against it is hazard risk — 4.8% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. A median £344,000 buys a home here, 5 times what households in the Vale of White Horse council area earn in a year.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 2 things Abingdon-on-Thames 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 Abingdon-on-Thames is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 275 buildings inside Abingdon-on-Thames’s built-up area, 9 of them Grade I, and 5 scheduled monuments.
8% 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 Abingdon-on-Thames.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly a third of commuters who live in Abingdon-on-Thames also work there. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 41%, lower than both Oxfordshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). For every resident in work, Abingdon-on-Thames has 1 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Below are three of its 13 schools, each with why it was picked. Rush Common School’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 9 primary schools: 62% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunmore Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 420 | C− |
| Larkmead SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 959 | D |
| Rush Common SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 417 | A |
Degrees are held by 44% of adults, about level with Oxfordshire’s towns (42%) and above England’s towns (34%). 20% of residents have reached 65. Children are 17% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Abingdon-on-Thames | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 44% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Oxfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
3.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, close to Oxfordshire’s towns (3.5%) and below England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Abingdon-on-Thames is John Radcliffe Hospital, 6.6 miles away. 4 GP practices serve the town; 82% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Abingdon-on-Thames | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 15% | 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.
18% rent privately, lower than both Oxfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). Home ownership stands at nearly two thirds of households. Private rents average £1,352 a month across the Vale of White Horse council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £500,000 | 251 |
| Semi-detached | £372,500 | 359 |
| Terraced | £326,500 | 370 |
| Flat or maisonette | £220,000 | 299 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, below Oxfordshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Abingdon-on-Thames’s listed buildings include the Abbey Gate, Grade I. Grade II* covers 12 of them, Grade I 9.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 1,980 crimes inside Abingdon-on-Thames’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 316 reports of anti-social behaviour. 46% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.3 reports per 1,000, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (4.8) 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Abingdon-on-Thames. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryAbingdon Abbeyin town
Museum · English HeritageAbingdon County Hall Museumin town
Historic houseThe Abbey, Sutton Courtenay1.6 km outside town, to the south
MuseumPendon Museum4.7 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseMilton Manor3 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionJarn Mound2.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
275 listed buildings in Abingdon-on-Thames, 9 of them Grade I.
County Hall and Market House: Photo: William M. Connolley · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brick Alley Almshouses: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Abingdon Bridge including Maud Hale's Bridge: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Blue Boar Public House: Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0
43 notable people were born in Abingdon-on-Thames.
Philip Selway: michell zappa from São Paulo, Brazil, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dean Whitehead: Ronnie Macdonald, CC BY 2.0 · Francis Maude: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 · Kate Garraway: Christopher William Adach from London, UK, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abingdon-on-Thames | 33,179 | — | A− | B+ | C+ | B+ |
| Shippon | 1,894 | 1.1 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Radley | 2,079 | 1.8 | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Wootton (Vale of White Horse) | 2,428 | 2.4 | — | B | B+ | B+ |
| Drayton | 3,110 | 2.5 | B | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Sutton Courtenay | 3,055 | 2.7 | B+ | B− | B+ | B+ |
| Marcham | 2,030 | 2.7 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
| Kennington | 4,595 | 3.1 | A | C+ | A | A |
Shippon, Radley, Wootton (Vale of White Horse) and Marcham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Gate. It also has 5 scheduled monuments.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Abingdon-on-Thames is £2,640 for 2026–27, more than in 92% 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 Oxfordshire, England
Abingdon-on-Thames is a built-up area of 33,179 people, in the Vale of White Horse 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.