British cities all grow at roughly the same speed

Few english cities are more successful than Oxford. Wages there are higher than the national average, and the proportion of adults with degree-level qualifications is far higher. Oxford University has a larger portfolio of patents than any other British university.

But in one important way Oxford is no better than mediocre. Over the past five years the city has added just 1,440 net homes, swelling its housing stock by 0.5% a year. That is slower growth than the English average. The Office for National Statistics (ons) will soon update its population estimates to account for the 2021 census. For now, though, it calculates that Oxford’s population of about 150,000 is not growing at all. Even if you include surrounding districts containing lots of commuters—which is how the oecd, a club of mostly rich countries, defines urban areas—its growth is only average.