Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village in Wiltshire, South West, home to 1,425 people.
Safety is its strong suit — 6.6 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 4.2 home and vehicle crimes. Schools do well (A): primary results beat 86% of towns in England. Where it falls short is cost of living (C+): a typical home costs £630,000 and rent runs £1,082 a month. It also trails on walkability (C): just over one in ten commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021. Ashton Keynes is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ashton Keynes is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Ashton Keynes is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Ashton Keynes does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Ashton Keynes’ built-up area, along with 6 scheduled monuments.
32% 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 Ashton Keynes.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 25 crimes and 5 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Ashton Keynes’s built-up area. Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Ashton Keynes has less crime per resident than 96% of them. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 44% of recorded crime. There were 4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Wiltshire’s towns (8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
69% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. There is one school here; it is shown below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 207 | A+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ashton Keynes’s listed buildings include the Church of the Holy Cross, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 56 listed buildings here: 1 Grade I. Of Ashton Keynes’ land, 90% lies in conservation areas, above both Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (7%). Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a third of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
A disability affects 14% of people in Ashton Keynes. Seeing a GP means leaving Ashton Keynes: the nearest practice is 3.3 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.9% of the town. 87% of Ashton Keynes’ residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Wiltshire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Ashton Keynes | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
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.
Jobs per working resident: 0.6. 87% of commuters drove, above Wiltshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. On top of that, the census counted 49% of workers working mainly from home. Of the commuters living in Ashton Keynes, 7% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
8% of households live in social housing. Owners make up 84% of households, above Wiltshire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. The £630,000 median rests on 69 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £710,000 | 47 |
| Semi-detached | £427,500 | 13 |
| Terraced | £275,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
45% of adults hold a degree, above both Wiltshire’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (34%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 8.1%. Ashton Keynes has a median age of 51.7. Children are 16% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Ashton Keynes | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 45% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ashton Keynes. Best known first.
Village in Wiltshire, England
Ashton Keynes is a built-up area of 1,425 people, in the Wiltshire 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton Keynes | 1,425 | — | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| South Cerney | 3,998 | 2.1 | A− | C− | A | A |
| Cricklade | 4,030 | 3.2 | A− | B | B+ | A− |
| Purton | 3,193 | 4.8 | A | B | A− | B |
| Cirencester | 17,715 | 4.9 | C+ | C | C | C+ |
| Stratton | 2,558 | 6.2 | A− | C− | A | B+ |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 6.5 | B+ | C− | B | A− |
| Royal Wootton Bassett | 13,002 | 7.2 | A− | B+ | B− | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £630,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £275,000, semi-detached houses £427,500 and detached houses £710,000.
That is 16.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of the Holy Cross. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
Primary results beat 86% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Wiltshire council.
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.