Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 6,991: a town in Oxfordshire, South East.
Chipping Norton ranks #31 of 38 in Oxfordshire, with a B overall. Nationally, it does better than 60% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is walkability: on the way to work, 23% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The drawback is health (C) — life expectancy 77.7 for men, 81.5 for women. Homes sell for a median £346,750, about 5.3 years of what households in the West Oxfordshire council area earn. The rest of its grades are middling: B for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Chipping Norton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Chipping Norton does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 125 buildings inside Chipping Norton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
21% 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 1900.
Explore the history →125 listed buildings in Chipping Norton, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Richard Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Town Hall: Photo: Richard Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bliss Tweed Mill: Photo: Rob Farrow · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gateway and Walls to Almshouses: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Chipping Norton.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Chipping Norton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 125 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 10 Grade II*. Also worth knowing: 21% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Oxfordshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 57% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its three schools are below. Some 1,412 pupils attend Chipping Norton’s two primaries and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping NortonLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 190 | D |
| Chipping Norton SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,035 | B+ |
| Holy Trinity Catholic School, Chipping NortonTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 187 | A− |
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.
For 36% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 75% of commuters drove, higher than both Oxfordshire’s towns (69%) and England’s towns (70%). Before tax, the average household brings in £58K a year. Of the commuters living in Chipping Norton, 27% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Oxfordshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Chipping Norton is 45.5. Graduates make up 37% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Chipping Norton | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.2% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Oxfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest A&E to Chipping Norton is Horton General Hospital, 11.9 miles away. 18% of residents in Chipping Norton live with a disability. At the census, 4.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Oxfordshire’s towns (3.5%) but below England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Chipping Norton | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Of all the crimes, 58% were violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 397 recorded crimes inside Chipping Norton’s built-up area, and 41 reports of anti-social behaviour. Homes see 8.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
Private rents average £1,305 a month across the West Oxfordshire council area. 65% of households own their home, near Oxfordshire’s towns (63%) and higher than England’s towns (61%). 338 standard sales inside Chipping Norton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £346,750.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £480,000 | 71 |
| Semi-detached | £385,000 | 83 |
| Terraced | £320,000 | 109 |
| Flat or maisonette | £200,000 | 75 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Chipping Norton. Best known first.
ZooHeythrop Zoological Gardens4.9 km outside town, to the eastFortFortKnollbury3.1 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumChurchill & Sarsden Heritage Centre3 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric siteHistoric siteWhispering Knights3.3 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
21 notable people were born in Chipping Norton.
Wentworth Miller: Andrew Horovitz, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geoffrey Burbidge: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, CC BY 4.0 · Clare Moody: InfoGibraltar, CC BY 2.0 · Tim Moore: Tim Moore (Selbstauslöser), CC BY-SA 4.0
Town in Oxfordshire, England
Chipping Norton is a built-up area of 6,991 people, in the West Oxfordshire 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipping Norton | 6,991 | — | B | B | C+ | C |
| Hook Norton | 2,188 | 4.9 | — | C− | A− | A+ |
| Charlbury | 2,810 | 5.4 | B+ | C | B | A |
| Milton-under-Wychwood and Shipton-under-Wychwood | 2,956 | 6.1 | A− | C | B+ | A |
| Moreton-in-Marsh | 5,015 | 7.3 | C+ | C | C+ | B+ |
| Stow-on-the-Wold | 1,907 | 7.5 | — | C− | C+ | B+ |
| Middle Barton | 1,762 | 7.7 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Stonesfield | 1,663 | 7.7 | — | B− | A | A+ |
Hook Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold, Middle Barton and Stonesfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
About the middle for its size: 66% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 6 reports in the year.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £346,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £200,000, terraced houses £320,000, semi-detached houses £385,000 and detached houses £480,000.
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.