Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,531 in Kent, South East.
Cliffe grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 47% of UK towns, and #30 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 walkability (D): 7% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £335,000 in the last three years, 6 times what households in the Medway council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Cliffe 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 Cliffe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Cliffe’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
28% 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 Cliffe.
In the comparison, Cliffe comes below both Kent’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%). Half the people of Cliffe are older than 42.9. Children are 17% of the town.
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cliffe | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Helen's Church of England Primary School, CliffeLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 182 | B+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Cliffe, that is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 91% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Cliffe sits below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) on this measure. Owners make up 76% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £508,500 | 11 |
| Semi-detached | £350,000 | 31 |
| Terraced | £274,000 | 27 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Cliffe above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (16%). Cliffe’s listed buildings include Church of St Helen, Grade I. Cliffe has 15 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Police recorded 104 crimes inside Cliffe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 31 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 39% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
83% of Cliffe’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 82% across Kent’s towns. 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.
| Census 2021 | Cliffe | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
15 listed buildings in Cliffe, 1 of them Grade I.
Charnel House at North West Corner of Churchyard: Photo: Slaunger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 170-174, Church Street: Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Chantry Cottage: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Longford House: Photo: N Chadwick · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliffe | 2,531 | — | B− | C | B− | B− |
| Cliffe Woods | 2,689 | 1.9 | B | D | A | B |
| High Halstow | 1,823 | 2.9 | — | D | A | B− |
| Chattenden | 2,417 | 3.1 | — | C− | D | C+ |
| Higham | 2,642 | 3.5 | B− | D | B− | A− |
| Hoo St Werburgh | 8,758 | 3.6 | D | C− | C− | C |
| East Tilbury | 5,751 | 4 | C− | C | C− | C |
| Shorne | 1,038 | 4.6 | — | D | B | A− |
High Halstow, Chattenden and Shorne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Helen.
At the 2021 Census, 12% of Cliffe’s 2,531 residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Kent, England
Cliffe is a built-up area of 2,531 people, in the Medway 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.