Dartford grades B overall against UK towns: better than 59% of UK towns, and #21 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 31% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 43.5 violent and sexual offences and 20.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 37%. The median home sold for £363,000 in the last three years, 5.6 times what households in the Dartford council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Dartford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Hall Place and Gardens: Wellingwebsite at English Wikipedia Later versions were uploaded by P Ingerson at en.wikipedia., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dartford.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
Dartford is more walkable than 96% of UK towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took nearly two thirds of commuters, lower than both Kent’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%). Among 16 to 64s, 3.6% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. 30% of commuters who live in Dartford also work there. Before tax, the average household brings in £65K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA+
Dartford’s schools outperform 95% of towns in England on results
Between them, 15 primaries and seven secondaries teach 15,774 pupils in Dartford. Dartford Grammar School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 15 primary schools: 70% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 23 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 23 schools →
Safety
Dartford has more crime per resident than nine in ten UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
5,987 crimes and 1,227 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Dartford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 15.8 reports per 1,000, higher than both Kent’s towns (9.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 43% of the crimes.
43.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 37% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual2,580
Shoplifting689
Damage & arson623
Other theft485
Vehicle crime440
Public order308
Drugs274
Other crime200
Anti-social1,227
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.
43.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
20.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
15.8
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Health
Fewer people in Dartford live with a disability than in Kent’s towns or across England’s towns: 14%
7 GP practices serve the town; just over two thirds of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 3.6% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below both Kent’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: 86% of Dartford’s residents. Life expectancy here is 83.1 for women and 78.2 for men (2019–23).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
HousingCost of living grade C+
For cost of living grade, Dartford gets a C+
Half of the 2,163 standard sales inside Dartford’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £363,000. Private renters make up 18% of households. Social housing holds 15% of households, above Kent’s towns (14%) but below England’s towns (18%).
£363Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Dartford£363K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£610,000
141
Semi-detached
£440,000
562
Terraced
£360,000
868
Flat or maisonette
£245,000
592
64%
of households own their home · England 61%
18%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,575
average private rent a month, Dartford council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
Listed buildings in Dartford: 70, with 2 at Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
At the top of the list, 2 are Grade I and 4 Grade II*. Dartford’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Dartford counts 10 listed buildings, below Kent’s towns (53) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Children make up 22% of Dartford, above Kent’s towns and England’s towns
People 65 and over make up 12% of the town, below Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. At 36.6, the median resident of Dartford sits in the middle of the age range. Those aged 15 to 24 account for one in ten residents.
36.6median age
DartfordKentEngland
Ages · share of residents
10%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications16%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level33%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Mick Jagger: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 · Keith Richards: Siebbi, CC BY 3.0 · Andrea Arnold: Andrea_Arnold_2012.jpg: Georges Biard derivative work: César, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Peter Blake: The Academy on Vimeo, CC BY 3.0 · Jamie O'Hara: https://www.flickr.com/photos/joncandy/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Adam Curtis: Steve Rhodes from San Francisco, US, CC BY-SA 2.0
Hawley and Bean have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Dartford
Are schools in Dartford good?
GCSE results beat 98% of towns in England, and primary results beat 87% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Dartford safe?
About the middle for its size: 63% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Is Dartford expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £363,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £245,000, terraced houses £360,000, semi-detached houses £440,000 and detached houses £610,000.
About Dartford
Large town in Kent, England
Dartford is a built-up area of 69,131 people, in the Dartford 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
Population
69,131 (Census 2021)
Council
Dartford
County
Kent
Region
South East
Area
5.8 sq mi (15 km²)
ONS code
E63005030
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.
