Predominantly rural with scattered farms, the civil parish includes the small settlement of Old Hall Austerson at SJ656493, about two miles south of Nantwich centre.

[5] Part of Austerson and the adjacent parish of Baddington was forest until at least the mid-17th century, with wood being used as fuel for salt production in nearby Nantwich.

[9] From 1974 the civil parish was served by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new unitary authority of Cheshire East.

[10] Austerson falls in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich,[11] which has been represented by Kieran Mullan since 2019,[12] and previously by Gwyneth Dunwoody (1983–2008), Edward Timpson (2008–17) and Laura Smith (2017–19).

The land is generally flat with an average elevation of around 50 metres, sloping downwards near the eastern boundary to the narrow river valley of the Weaver.

[14][15] The A530 (Baddington Lane) runs immediately to the west of part of the north-western boundary of the civil parish.