Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,529 in Kent, South East.
Ash (Dover) grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 55% of UK towns, and #25 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £356,000, 6.8 years of area income; rent £1,021 a month.
The 3 things Ash (Dover) 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 Ash (Dover) is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 65 buildings inside Ash (Dover)’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
37% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ash (Dover). Best known first.
Historic houseGoodnestone Park4.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWhite Mill2.3 km outside town, to the eastZooZooWingham Wildlife Park2.4 km outside town, to the westHistoric siteHistoric siteRichborough Fort3.1 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumSandwich Guildhall Museum3 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumRichborough Castle Museum3 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ash (Dover).
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ash (Dover)’s listed buildings include the Church of St Nicholas, Grade I. Relative to its size, Ash (Dover) keeps 257 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above Kent’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39) alike. 37% of homes were built before 1919. Also worth knowing: it counts 65 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the 2 primary schools within 3 km, 68% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one school is below. The town’s primary school has 183 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 183 | C |
The share aged 15 to 24 is 9.4%. 16% are under 15, lower than both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of Ash (Dover) is older than 48.4, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Ash (Dover) | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Owners make up 70% of households, above Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. The median sale, £356,000, comes from 98 standard sales inside Ash (Dover)’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Council and housing-body homes hold 17% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £438,500 | 36 |
| Semi-detached | £357,500 | 30 |
| Terraced | £263,000 | 27 |
| Flat or maisonette | £145,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 111 offences were reported in Ash (Dover), along with 42 incidents of anti-social behaviour. 53% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Ash (Dover) has more crime per resident than 71% of them.
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.
At the census, 80% of people in Ash (Dover) called their health good or very good, below both Kent’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Ash (Dover) is Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, 8.3 miles away. Men in Ash (Dover) can expect to live to 82.2, women to 85.3 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Ash (Dover) | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 8% of its commuters stay in Ash (Dover) for work. The car carried 87% of commuters at the census. At the census, 12% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Kent’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%). The town counts 0.4 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
65 listed buildings in Ash (Dover), 1 of them Grade I.
The Chequer Inn: Photo: Tim Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Coombe Lane Cottage: Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash (Dover) | 2,529 | — | B− | C− | C | B+ |
| Sandwich | 4,258 | 2.5 | C− | C− | D | C+ |
| Eastry | 2,388 | 2.5 | — | C | B+ | C+ |
| Wingham | 1,313 | 2.8 | — | C− | A | B+ |
| Minster (Thanet) | 4,739 | 4.6 | D− | D− | D | C+ |
| Aylesham | 5,788 | 4.9 | C− | B− | C | C− |
| Littlebourne | 1,596 | 4.9 | — | C− | B− | C+ |
| Cliffs End | 1,284 | 5.1 | — | D− | C− | B− |
Eastry, Wingham, Littlebourne and Cliffs End have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 10.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Nicholas. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Primary results beat 80% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Kent council.
Burglary was rare, with 2 reports in the year.
Town in Kent, England
Ash (Dover) is a built-up area of 2,529 people, in the Dover 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.
