Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are only 7% of the population. 2,736 residents make their home in this town in Oxfordshire, South East.
With a B overall, Ambrosden is better than 56% of UK towns and ranks #34 of 38 in Oxfordshire. Jobs & income is its strong suit (A−): the mean household earns £73,545 a year. What counts against it is cost of living (C) — homes sell for a median £405,000, about 6.5 times local household income. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety, B− for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Ambrosden 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 Ambrosden is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Ambrosden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
6% 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 Ambrosden.
The owner-occupied share of households is 56%. 13% live in social housing, below Oxfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 156 homes sold inside Ambrosden’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £405,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £555,000 | 59 |
| Semi-detached | £375,000 | 49 |
| Terraced | £307,500 | 48 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The one school in town appears below. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 44% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45.5. At the 7 primary schools within 3 km, 56% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Acres Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 315 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. 6% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Oxfordshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). One scheduled monument lies in Ambrosden.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 64% of recorded crime. Police figures for Ambrosden’s built-up area: 97 crimes and 23 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Ambrosden has less crime per resident than 64% of them.
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 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
48% of commuters travelled under 5 km, above Oxfordshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. By car: that was how 85% of commuters travelled at the census. Among 16 to 64s, 2.5% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Seeing a GP means leaving Ambrosden: the nearest practice is 1.5 miles away. At the census, 12% of people here had a disability, below Oxfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (17%) alike; what’s more, 2.8% of residents report bad or very bad health. The nearest A&E to Ambrosden is John Radcliffe Hospital, 8.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ambrosden | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 90% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 15% | 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.
36% of adults hold a degree, below Oxfordshire’s towns (42%) but above England’s towns (34%). Over-65s are 7.2% of the population. Ages in Ambrosden split evenly at 33.6: half are older, half younger. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ambrosden | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 25% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 38% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 7.2% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 10% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 22% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Oxfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
13 listed buildings in Ambrosden.
Ambrosden churchyard cross: Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Park Farmhouse: Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrosden | 2,736 | — | B | C | B | B− |
| Upper Arncott | 1,659 | 1.7 | — | B | A | B |
| Launton | 1,374 | 1.8 | — | C | A− | B− |
| Bicester | 37,748 | 2.5 | B | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Chesterton | 1,179 | 3.1 | — | C− | A | A− |
| Oakley | 1,129 | 5.1 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Calvert | 1,434 | 5.8 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Upper Heyford | 2,481 | 6.8 | — | C | C | A− |
Upper Arncott, Launton, Chesterton, Oakley, Calvert and Upper Heyford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
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: terraced houses £307,500, semi-detached houses £375,000 and detached houses £555,000.
GCSE results trail 54% of towns in England, and primary results trail 76% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Oxfordshire council.
Town in Oxfordshire, England
Ambrosden is a built-up area of 2,736 people, in the Cherwell 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.
