Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,030 people call this town in Wiltshire, South West home.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Its strongest is health (A−) — men here can expect to live to 83.6, women to 87.3. Taken together, its subjects give Cricklade an A− overall, better than nearly four fifths of UK towns. That places it #8 of 30 in Wiltshire. Homes sell for a median £340,000, about 5.7 years of what households in the Wiltshire council area earn. The trade-off is schools: primary results beat 37% of towns in England. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Cricklade 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 Cricklade is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 113 buildings inside Cricklade’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 4 scheduled monuments.
16% 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 Cricklade.
Ages in Cricklade split evenly at 50.1: half are older, half younger. The 15-to-24 age group: 8.4%, below both Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). Also worth knowing: among adults, 34% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
| Cricklade | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the one primary school within 3 km, nearly three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below. 282 pupils attend Cricklade’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Sampson's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 282 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cricklade has 113 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. Its listed buildings include Chuchyard Cross in Churchyard, Church of St Mary, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 27% lies in conservation areas, above both Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Cricklade is Great Western Hospital, 9 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 89% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4.2% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Cricklade | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Cricklade has less crime per resident than 78% of them. This Wiltshire town logged 143 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 46 complaints of anti-social conduct. Per 1,000 residents, 6.5 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. Violence and sexual offences made up 48% 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly two in five workers worked mainly from home at the census. Households had £64K a year before tax, near Wiltshire’s towns (£62K) and higher than England’s towns (£55K). Of the commuters living in Cricklade, 11% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.5.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Three quarters of households own their home, above both Wiltshire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). The £340,000 median rests on 160 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £445,000 | 55 |
| Semi-detached | £339,000 | 40 |
| Terraced | £293,500 | 60 |
| Flat or maisonette | £168,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cricklade. Best known first.
Heritage railwaySwindon and Cricklade Railway3.2 km outside town, to the southFortFort(Former) RAF Down Ampney2.6 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionCotswolds Water Park4.8 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
113 listed buildings in Cricklade, 2 of them Grade I.
Jenner's School: Photo: Gary Haywood · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 23, High Street: Photo: Gary Haywood · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ockwells Glove Factory: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kings Head Public House: Photo: Michael Dibb · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cricklade | 4,030 | — | A− | B | B+ | A− |
| Ashton Keynes | 1,425 | 3.2 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 3.5 | B+ | C− | B | A− |
| South Cerney | 3,998 | 3.6 | A− | C− | A | A |
| Purton | 3,193 | 3.8 | A | B | A− | B |
| Swindon | 183,687 | 5.6 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Fairford | 4,240 | 5.7 | A | C− | A− | A− |
| Stratton St Margaret | 20,689 | 6.3 | C+ | B− | C | C+ |
Ashton Keynes has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 11.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Chuchyard Cross in Churchyard, Church of St Mary. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Cricklade is £2,628 for 2026–27, more than in 90% 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.
Town in Wiltshire, England
Cricklade is a built-up area of 4,030 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
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.