Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 13,100 residents, it is a town in Oxfordshire, South East.
Fewer journeys need a car: 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Wantage ranks #21 of 38 in Oxfordshire, with a B+ overall. That leaves it better than three quarters of UK towns. Cost of living is a strength too (B+): homes sell for a median £350,000, about 5 times local household income. Crime is the sore point: 33.2 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 10.9 home and vehicle crimes. Only 52% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Wantage 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 Wantage is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 122 buildings inside Wantage’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Wantage Township, New Jersey, is named after Wantage.
USUS editionWantage Township, New Jersey, settled in 1754, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wantage.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, just over three quarters of commuters went by car. Household income came to £67K a year before tax, below Oxfordshire’s towns (£70K) but above England’s towns (£55K). Of the commuters living in Wantage, 23% work in the town itself. The town counts 0.5 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 44% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.4. Below are two of its 6 schools, each with why it was picked. At the town’s 4 primary schools, 62% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 444 | C+ |
| King Alfred'sLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,708 | C+ |
Private rents average £1,352 a month across the Vale of White Horse council area. 624 standard sales inside Wantage’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £350,000. Owners make up 65% of households, close to Oxfordshire’s towns (63%) and above England’s towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £487,500 | 182 |
| Semi-detached | £350,000 | 201 |
| Terraced | £302,500 | 128 |
| Flat or maisonette | £186,500 | 113 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 774 crimes inside Wantage’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 129 reports of anti-social behaviour. 50% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.8 reports per 1,000, above both Oxfordshire’s towns (4.8) and England’s towns (7.8).
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 Wantage is Great Western Hospital, 13.5 miles away. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.5 miles away. Men in Wantage can expect to live to 81.9, women to 84.1 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Wantage | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wantage’s listed buildings include the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 10% of the total, below Oxfordshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The middle age in Wantage is 41.8. 20% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Oxfordshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Degrees are held by nearly two in five adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wantage | Oxfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 4.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 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 Wantage. Best known first.
MuseumVale and Downland Museum and Visitor Centrein townMuseumMuseumThe Sack Housein townMuseumMuseumChamps Chapel Museum of East Hendred3.9 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
122 listed buildings in Wantage, 1 of them Grade I.
32 and 33, Market Place: Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eagles Close Almshouses: Photo: Alex Passmore · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Lamb Public House: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chapel Adjoining South Side of St Mary's School: Photo: Bill Nicholls · CC BY-SA 2.0
16 notable people were born in Wantage.
Alfred the Great: CNG - Classical Numismatic Group, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Frances O'Connor: Robert Connolly, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lester Piggott: Ragge Strand / Bjørn Fjørtoft / Rolf Engesland, CC BY 4.0 · Mike Parker Pearson: H-stt, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Caroline Voaden: ©House of Commons, CC BY 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wantage | 13,100 | — | B+ | B+ | C | B+ |
| Grove | 7,942 | 1 | B+ | B+ | C+ | B+ |
| East Challow | 1,031 | 1.2 | — | B+ | B | A |
| East Hanney | 1,233 | 3.4 | — | C+ | B− | A+ |
| East Hendred | 1,367 | 3.7 | — | B− | A | A− |
| Steventon | 2,211 | 4.8 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
| Stanford in the Vale | 2,302 | 4.9 | — | B+ | B | B |
| Chilton | 1,378 | 5.3 | — | A− | B+ | A |
East Challow, East Hanney, East Hendred, Steventon, Stanford in the Vale and Chilton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter and St Paul.
About the middle for its size: 48% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £350,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £186,500, terraced houses £302,500, semi-detached houses £350,000 and detached houses £487,500. Household incomes are higher than in 83% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Oxfordshire, England
Wantage is a built-up area of 13,100 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.