Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 12,952 residents in Oxfordshire, South East.
Jobs & income is its strong suit (A+) — the mean household earns £71,969 a year. A median £435,000 buys a home here, 6.2 times what households in the South Oxfordshire council area earn in a year. Health is a strength (A): life expectancy 82.6 for men, 86.3 for women. The overall grade lands at A+, #4 of 38 in Oxfordshire. It comes out better than 96% of UK towns.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Thame 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 Thame is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 162 buildings inside Thame’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1826.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Thame.
At the census, 86% of people in Thame called their health good or very good, close to Oxfordshire’s towns (86%) and above England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.4% of the town. One GP practice serves the town; 90% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Thame is Stoke Mandeville Hospital, 8.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Thame | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 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.
Thame’s three primaries and one secondary have 3,354 pupils between them. John Hampden Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Below are three of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: nearly two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barley Hill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 482 | B− |
| Lord Williams's SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 2,259 | B |
| John Hampden Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 451 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 41% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 32% of its commuters stay in Thame for work. 38% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work, and on top of that at the census, 24% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Oxfordshire’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (27%). Jobs per working resident: 1.5.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Thame has 125 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above Oxfordshire’s towns (104) and England’s towns (39) alike. The town’s listed buildings include the Chapel Approximately 10 Metres South of the Prebendal, Grade I. 11% of homes date from before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Thame logged 647 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 69 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 40% of recorded crime. Burglary and damage came to 7.2 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than Oxfordshire’s towns (6.8) yet lower than 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.
Private renters make up 16% of households, below Oxfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. 13% of households rent from a council or housing body. 658 standard sales inside Thame’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £435,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £600,000 | 162 |
| Semi-detached | £463,000 | 203 |
| Terraced | £370,000 | 173 |
| Flat or maisonette | £262,500 | 120 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Among adults, 41% have a degree. 18% are under 15, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Those 65 and older account for just over a fifth of residents. Ages in Thame split evenly at 44: half are older, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thame | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 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 Thame. Best known first.
Museum · National TrustLong Crendon Courthouse2.2 km outside town, to the north
CastleThame Park House1 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumHaddenham Museum3.2 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumThe Fuze Centre4.3 km outside town, to the northeastWildlife parkWildlife parkTiggywinkles Wildlife Teaching Hospital3.2 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
162 listed buildings in Thame, 2 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Mark Percy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Master's Court: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Spirit: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Forge: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0
11 notable people were born in Thame.
James Figg: John Faber Jr, after John Ellys, Public domain · Bertie Corbett: William W. Winter, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thame | 12,952 | — | A+ | C+ | B+ | A |
| Long Crendon | 2,495 | 2.2 | — | C− | A− | A+ |
| Haddenham | 5,603 | 2.7 | A | C | B+ | A |
| Chinnor | 7,268 | 4.1 | A− | B− | A− | A |
| Longwick | 1,528 | 4.8 | — | C | A− | A |
| Stone | 2,081 | 5.9 | — | C | A− | A |
| Oakley | 1,129 | 5.9 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Princes Risborough | 7,528 | 6.3 | B+ | C+ | C+ | A− |
Long Crendon, Longwick, Stone and Oakley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Chapel Approximately 10 Metres South of the Prebendal. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Thame is £2,690 for 2026–27, more than in 95% 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £435,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £262,500, terraced houses £370,000, semi-detached houses £463,000 and detached houses £600,000.
Town in Oxfordshire, England
Thame is a built-up area of 12,952 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.