Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This village in Oxfordshire, South East has a population of 1,295.
The local economy does well: mean household income £61,358; 1.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Health outcomes beat most towns (A−): life expectancy 82 for men, 85.6 for women. Buying the median home, at £430,000, takes 6.1 years of household income in the South Oxfordshire council area. Its weakest is schools (D) — primary results beat 34% of towns in England; secondary results beat 1% of towns in England.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. Garsington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
The 3 things Garsington 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 Garsington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Garsington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Garsington’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
27% 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 Garsington.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 2 of them. Garsington has 39 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade II*. 27% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Garsington Church of England Primary School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. The one school in town appears below. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 24% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 31.2.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garsington Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 204 | A− |
There is no GP practice in Garsington: the nearest is 1.3 miles off. Self-reported good health: 85% of the town’s residents. The nearest A&E to Garsington is John Radcliffe Hospital, 3.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Garsington | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
58% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. 31 crimes and 7 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Garsington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Homes saw 8.5 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, between Oxfordshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (9.4).
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.
8% rent privately, below Oxfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Social renters account for nearly one in ten households. The £430,000 median rests on 31 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £510,000 | 15 |
| Semi-detached | £435,000 | 11 |
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.
84% of commuters drove, higher than both Oxfordshire’s towns (69%) and England’s towns (70%). For 37% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Of the commuters living in Garsington, 4% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.4.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Degrees are held by 38% of adults, below Oxfordshire’s towns (42%) but above England’s towns (34%). 15% of residents are children under 15. Line up the people of Garsington by age and the one in the middle is 50.7. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 7.8% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Garsington | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 30% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 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 Garsington. Best known first.
Historic houseGarsington Manorin town
Historic houseShotover House3.8 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumScience Oxford Centre3.8 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumThe Kilns - CS Lewis's Home3.9 km outside town, to the northChurchChurchSaint Katherine's Church2.2 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garsington | 1,295 | — | — | B− | A− | A− |
| Horspath | 1,467 | 1.2 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Wheatley | 4,305 | 2.3 | A | B− | B | A− |
| Kennington | 4,595 | 3.3 | A | C+ | A | A |
| Oxford | 170,799 | 3.4 | C+ | D | C− | C+ |
| Berinsfield | 2,773 | 3.9 | C+ | A− | C+ | C |
| Radley | 2,079 | 3.9 | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Chalgrove | 2,807 | 5.2 | B+ | B | B+ | A |
Horspath and Radley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 12.4 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Oxfordshire council.
Against all UK towns, it grades A−.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £430,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: semi-detached houses £435,000 and detached houses £510,000. Household incomes are higher than in 72% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Village in Oxfordshire, England
Garsington is a built-up area of 1,295 people, in the South 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
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.