Horley’s story
20 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England lists them inside Horley’s built-up area.
45% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
HorleyOxfordshire
A village of 326 in Oxfordshire, South East.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Richard Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
326
Census 2021 · Cherwell council
Median home
£563K
10 sales in 3 years
Median age
51.5
26% are 65+ · Oxfordshire 18%
Degree level
42%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
6%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Horley a good place to live?
There are no grades for Horley: with fewer than 1,000 residents, they wouldn’t be fair. The figures on this page are still real. Walking, cycling and public transport carry 6% of commuters. 45% of homes were built before 1919.
What makes Horley stand out
The 3 things Horley does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
6% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Homes built before 1919
History
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
Median sale, £ thousands
Housing
£563K median home
2 times the typical UK town’s £277K
Standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Horley.
Work & commute
Only 0.4% of 16 to 64s in Horley claim unemployment benefits, fewer than in both Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 49% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 21%, below both Oxfordshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). About 2% of its commuters stay in Horley for work. There are 0.6 jobs in Horley for each resident in work.
6%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving94%
On foot4%
Bus1%
Train1%
21%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
49%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£67K
mean household income, before tax
0.4%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Horley is a town of owners: 84% of households own their home, above Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
9% of households rent privately. Social housing holds 6% of households, below both Oxfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,304 a month across the Cherwell council area.
£563Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Horley£563K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £700,000 | 6 |
84%
of households own their home · England 61%
9%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,304
average private rent a month, Cherwell council area
£2,509
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage hit Horley harder than Oxfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 24.5 per 1,000 residents a year
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 12 crimes inside Horley’s built-up area. Violence came to 9.2 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Oxfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22). Also worth knowing: a third of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
9.2violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Burglary7
Violence & sexual4
Vehicle crime1
Shoplifting0
Damage & arson0
Public order0
Other theft0
Drugs0
Anti-social0
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.
9.2
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
24.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
0
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
12
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
Health
Just 2.5% of people in Horley say their health is bad or very bad, fewer than in both Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
There is no GP practice in Horley: the nearest is 3 miles off. Self-reported good health: 88% of the town’s residents. At the census, 14% of people here had a disability, close to Oxfordshire’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (17%).
88%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 88%Fair 10%Bad or very bad 2%
| Census 2021 | Horley | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.5% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
82.5
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
83.8
life expectancy at birth, women
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.
History
Much of Horley is a conservation area: 68% of its land, more than in both Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Horley’s listed buildings include St Etheldredas Church, Grade I. Relative to its size, Horley keeps 614 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (105) and England’s towns (39). It counts 20 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*.
20listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I1
Grade II*1
Grade II18
Among them · Grade I
- St Etheldredas Church Grade I
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
45%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
613
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Children make up only 12% of Horley, fewer than in both Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
Horley has a median age of 51.5 years. People 65 and over make up 26% of the town, above Oxfordshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Aged 15 to 24: 14% of residents.
51.5median age
HorleyOxfordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
26%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications8%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar21%
Degree level42%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Horley | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.2% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.9% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Oxfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Upton House and 3 more in and around Horley
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Horley. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustUpton House4.7 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseFarnborough Hall4.8 km outside town, to the north
MuseumBanbury Museum4.7 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumTooley's Historic Boatyard4.8 km outside town, to the southeastPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (3)
- Upton House: Lee Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Farnborough Hall: Nicholas Jackson, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Banbury Museum: Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Horley
13pages on Horley
The big questions
Safety9.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £563K · rent £1,304 a monthHousing3 sold in 12 monthsSchoolsHealthLife expectancy 82.5 (men), 83.8 (women)Work & commute64% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards0.7% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Horley’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
BanburyBodicoteBloxhamMiddleton CheneyAdderbury and TwyfordKings SuttonKinetonHorley
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horley | 326 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Banbury | 52,041 | 2.7 | C+ | B | D | C |
| Bodicote | 4,752 | 4.6 | A− | C+ | B+ | A |
| Bloxham | 3,681 | 5.2 | B+ | C | B− | A |
| Middleton Cheney | 4,127 | 5.3 | A | C | A | B+ |
| Adderbury and Twyford | 3,318 | 6 | B+ | C− | A | A− |
| Kings Sutton | 2,306 | 6.8 | — | C | A− | A− |
| Kineton | 2,235 | 6.8 | — | B | C+ | B |
Kings Sutton and Kineton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Horley
How many listed buildings are there in Horley?
That is 25.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is St Etheldredas Church.
How much is council tax in Horley?
Band D council tax in Horley is £2,509 for 2026–27, more than in 66% 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.
About Horley
Village in Oxfordshire, England
Horley is a built-up area of 326 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
- Population
- 326 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Cherwell
- County
- Oxfordshire
- Region
- South East
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
- ONS code
- E63003751
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.