Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 20,941 in Kent, South East.
Faversham grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 35% of UK towns, and #43 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 27% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C−): 36 violent and sexual offences and 17.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 31%. The median home sold for £335,000 in the last three years, 6.1 times what households in the Swale council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Faversham 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 Faversham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 359 buildings inside Faversham’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 3 scheduled monuments.
30% 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 Faversham.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Faversham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Grade I. For its size, Faversham has 171 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Kent’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39). 30% of homes date from before 1919. Grade II* covers 24 of them, Grade I 4.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
62% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 7 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Some 3,503 pupils attend Faversham’s five primaries and two secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davington Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 415 | B |
| Queen Elizabeth's Grammar SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,156 | A+ |
| Ethelbert Road Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 209 | A |
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.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 3.2% of 16 to 64s in 2026, above both Kent’s towns (2.7%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Just over a third of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Faversham counts 0.7 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
1,581 crimes and 485 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Faversham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 19.9 reports per 1,000, above Kent’s towns (9.3) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences were just over two fifths of the crimes.
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.
Behind the median of £335,000: 1,042 standard sales inside Faversham’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. The owner-occupied share of households is 66%. Private rents average £1,114 a month across the Swale council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £490,000 | 209 |
| Semi-detached | £350,000 | 296 |
| Terraced | £305,000 | 399 |
| Flat or maisonette | £187,250 | 138 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Faversham has a median age of 43.8 years. 10% of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Kent’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). The under-15s are 17% of the population here.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Faversham | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, four fifths of people in Faversham called their health good or very good, lower than both Kent’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Faversham is William Harvey Hospital, 12.1 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 74% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Faversham | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Faversham. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryFaversham Abbeyin town
MuseumFleur de Lis Heritage Centrein town
GardenNational Fruit Collection100 m outside town, to the south
Historic houseProvender2.4 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseBelmont House and Gardens3.5 km outside town, to the southwest
GardenMount Ephraim Gardens3.5 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
359 listed buildings in Faversham, 4 of them Grade I.
The Guildhall: Photo: Ed Webster · CC BY 2.0 · The Maison Dieu Museum: Photo: Ron Strutt · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Carpenters Shop, Fremlins Brewery Coopers Shop, Fremlins Brewery Old Cask Yard, Fremlins Brewery: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bridge Cottage: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0
27 notable people were born in Faversham.
Albert E. Smith: Unknown photographer, Public domain · David Smith: Unknown photographer, Public domain · George Bonham: The original uploader was Clithering at Chinese Wikipedia., Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faversham | 20,941 | — | C+ | C | C− | C |
| Boughton under Blean | 2,274 | 3.4 | — | C | B | B |
| Teynham | 3,128 | 3.7 | C | B | C− | C+ |
| Eastchurch | 3,381 | 5.6 | D− | B+ | D− | D− |
| Warden | 1,817 | 6.4 | — | B | C | D− |
| Challock | 1,089 | 6.5 | — | C− | A+ | B |
| Sittingbourne | 54,385 | 6.7 | C | B− | D | C |
| Blean | 1,327 | 6.7 | — | D | A | A− |
Boughton under Blean, Warden, Challock and Blean have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Faversham Abbey Minor Barn. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 69% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in Kent, England
Faversham is a built-up area of 20,941 people, in the Swale 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.