Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 8,625 people live in this town, in Oxfordshire, South East.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Faringdon grades B overall and ranks #32 of 38 in Oxfordshire. Nationally, it does better than three fifths of UK towns. Where it does best is cost of living — a typical home costs £340,000 and rent runs £1,352 a month. Fewer journeys need a car (B+): on the way to work, 18% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. School results trail most towns (C−): primary results beat 25% of towns in England; secondary results beat 27% of towns in England. It also trails on safety — 31.9 violent and sexual offences and 8.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only nearly a third of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The thing Faringdon 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 Faringdon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 121 buildings inside Faringdon’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I.
18% 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 Faringdon.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Faringdon’s listed buildings include the Church of All Saints, Grade I. It has 140 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above Oxfordshire’s towns (104) and England’s towns (39) alike. Homes from before 1919 make up 18% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the 2 primary schools within 3 km, 56% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 2,034 pupils attend Faringdon’s two primaries and one secondary. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 43.3, with 37% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folly View PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 401 | – |
| Faringdon Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,382 | C |
19% live in social housing, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Behind the median of £340,000: 540 standard sales inside Faringdon’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. It is the 36th most expensive of 40 towns of 2,500+ in Oxfordshire.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £472,250 | 192 |
| Semi-detached | £330,375 | 152 |
| Terraced | £290,000 | 118 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,250 | 78 |
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 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £64K a year before tax, below Oxfordshire’s towns (£70K) but above England’s towns (£55K). Four in five commuters drove to work at the census. Work in town: 19% of resident commuters. Among 16 to 64s, 2.8% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 565 offences were reported in Faringdon, along with 87 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.2 reports per 1,000, above Oxfordshire’s towns (4.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 nearest A&E to Faringdon is Great Western Hospital, 10 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 80% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 3.5% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2021 | Faringdon | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Two in five adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 18% of the town, about level with both Oxfordshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%).
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Faringdon | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.6% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Oxfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Faringdon. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustBuscot House3.8 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseKelmscott Manor4.4 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric siteHistoric site · National TrustGreat Coxwell Barn1 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionBadbury Hill1.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
121 listed buildings in Faringdon, 2 of them Grade I.
Old Town Hall: Photo: Mick Lobb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sudbury House: Photo: Alan Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Folly Inn: Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Old Station: Photo: Nigel Thompson · CC BY-SA 2.0
8 notable people were born in Faringdon.
Mark Haskins: Tabercil, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cicely Hey: Walter Sickert, Public domain · Martin Burrell: William James Topley, Public domain · Ernest Brooks: William Orpen, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faringdon | 8,625 | — | B | B+ | C | B |
| Stanford in the Vale | 2,302 | 3.5 | — | B+ | B | B |
| Shrivenham and Watchfield | 5,353 | 4.4 | B | B | C+ | A |
| Highworth | 7,932 | 5.5 | B+ | B− | B+ | B |
| Lechlade-on-Thames | 2,208 | 5.5 | — | C− | B− | A− |
| Bampton | 2,994 | 5.5 | B | B− | B | A− |
| Aston | 1,174 | 6.1 | — | C+ | A− | A− |
| East Challow | 1,031 | 7.2 | — | B+ | B | A |
Stanford in the Vale, Lechlade-on-Thames, Aston and East Challow have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of All Saints.
Band D council tax in Faringdon is £2,644 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.
GCSE results trail 73% of towns in England, and primary results trail 75% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Faringdon has 3 state schools; places are handled by Oxfordshire council.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 68% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less.
Town in Oxfordshire, England
Faringdon is a built-up area of 8,625 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.