Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,055 in Oxfordshire, South East.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Where it does best is jobs & income (B+) — mean household income £66,652; 2.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. With a B+ overall, Sutton Courtenay is better than nearly two thirds of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #27 of 38 in Oxfordshire. Safety is another plus (B+): police record 17.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 6.8 home and vehicle crimes. The trade-off is schools (C−). It takes 6.7 years of household income in the Vale of White Horse council area to buy the median home, at £462,500.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Sutton Courtenay 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 Sutton Courtenay is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 62 buildings inside Sutton Courtenay’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sutton Courtenay. Best known first.
Historic houseThe Abbey, Sutton Courtenayin town
Abbey or prioryAbingdon Abbey2.6 km outside town, to the north
MuseumDidcot Railway Centre3 km outside town, to the southeast
Museum · English HeritageAbingdon County Hall Museum2.7 km outside town, to the north
MuseumPendon Museum3 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseMilton Manor1 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sutton Courtenay.
At the 10 primary schools within 3 km, 61% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one school is below. Secondary results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 24.7, with 19% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton Courtenay Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 187 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sutton Courtenay’s listed buildings include the Church of All Saints, Grade I. It counts 62 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 3 Grade I, 6 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover 27% of the town’s land, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Sutton Courtenay has less crime per resident than 79% of them. Reported offences locally came to 97 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 18. Violence and sexual offences made up 44% of the total.
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.
Women here live to 87.9 on average and men to 80.4 (2019–23). Seeing a GP means leaving Sutton Courtenay: the nearest practice is 2.2 miles away. The nearest A&E to Sutton Courtenay is John Radcliffe Hospital, 9.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Sutton Courtenay | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 7% of its commuters stay in Sutton Courtenay for work. 81% of commuters drove, higher than both Oxfordshire’s towns (69%) and England’s towns (70%). Add to that, the census counted 45% of workers working mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
70% of households own their home, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (63%) and England’s towns (61%). Council and housing-body homes hold 19% of households. Private rents average £1,352 a month across the Vale of White Horse council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £650,000 | 69 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 37 |
| Terraced | £370,000 | 25 |
| Flat or maisonette | £195,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Half the people of Sutton Courtenay are older than 41. 9.4% of residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Oxfordshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Degrees are held by 44% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sutton Courtenay | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.9% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 44% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Oxfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
62 listed buildings in Sutton Courtenay, 3 of them Grade I.
The Norman Hall: Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sutton Courtenay Manor: Photo: Jonathan A Jones · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Almshouses and Attached Walls and Gate: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The George and Dragon Public House: Photo: Bill Nicholls · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton Courtenay | 3,055 | — | B+ | B− | B+ | B+ |
| Drayton | 3,110 | 1.6 | B | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Steventon | 2,211 | 2.3 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
| Didcot | 34,600 | 2.6 | A | B+ | C+ | B |
| Abingdon-on-Thames | 33,179 | 2.7 | A− | B+ | C+ | B+ |
| Harwell | 3,067 | 2.7 | A | C+ | B− | A− |
| Shippon | 1,894 | 3.4 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Marcham | 2,030 | 3.6 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
Steventon, Shippon and Marcham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include The Abbey.
GCSE results trail almost all towns in England, and primary results trail 51% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Oxfordshire council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £462,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £195,000, terraced houses £370,000, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £650,000. Household incomes are higher than in 83% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Town in Oxfordshire, England
Sutton Courtenay is a built-up area of 3,055 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.