Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 108,485 in Kent, South East.
Gillingham grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 17% of UK towns, and #66 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 42.7 violent and sexual offences and 16.7 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 51%. The median home sold for £315,000 in the last three years, 5.6 times what households in the Medway council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Gillingham 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 Gillingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 130 buildings inside Gillingham’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 12 scheduled monuments.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1837.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Gillingham. Best known first.
MuseumRoyal Engineers Museumin town
CathedralRochester Cathedral1.7 km outside town, to the west
Castle · English HeritageRochester Castle1.8 km outside town, to the west
Castle · English HeritageUpnor Castle400 m outside town, to the northwest
Historic shipHMS Cavalier200 m outside town, to the northwest
Historic shipHMS Gannet200 m outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gillingham.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 42.7 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Kent’s towns (23.9) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 8,745 crimes inside Gillingham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 2,123 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 45% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
Three of its 34 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Academy of WoodlandsLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 758 | C |
| Rainham School for GirlsLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,622 | C− |
| Rainham Mark Grammar SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,568 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Gillingham comes above both Kent’s towns (2.7%) and England’s towns (2.3%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Women here live to 82.7 on average and men to 78.4 (2019–23). 13 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 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 | Gillingham | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Gillingham has 130 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 4 Grade I, 17 Grade II*. 23% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 11% of households, below both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £475,000 | 623 |
| Semi-detached | £355,000 | 1,090 |
| Terraced | £280,000 | 1,798 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,000 | 462 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
For Gillingham, that is below both Kent’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%). Gillingham has a median age of 39.3.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Gillingham | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
130 listed buildings in Gillingham, 4 of them Grade I.
Chatham Naval War Memorial: Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY 2.5 · Sail Loft: Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY 2.5 · The Brunel Saw Mill: Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY 2.5 · The Officers' Terrace, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham: Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY 2.5
76 notable people were born in Gillingham.
David Harvey: readingcapital, CC BY 3.0 · William Adams: Editor = Dalton, W. / (Dalton, William)., Public domain · Ted Ditchburn: Harry Pot for Anefo ]], CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Henry Tizard: Bernard Hailstone, Public domain · Ron Tauranac: Raimund Kommer, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | 108,485 | — | C− | C+ | D | C− |
| Chatham | 76,956 | 2.1 | D | B− | D | D |
| Upchurch | 1,727 | 3.1 | — | C− | A− | B− |
| Rochester | 67,279 | 3.4 | C | C+ | D | C− |
| Hoo St Werburgh | 8,758 | 3.5 | D | C− | C− | C |
| Chattenden | 2,417 | 3.7 | — | C− | D | C+ |
| Lower Halstow | 1,210 | 4.1 | — | C− | A | B− |
| Newington | 2,691 | 4.3 | C | C+ | C− | C+ |
Upchurch, Chattenden and Lower Halstow have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Its Grade I buildings include Chatham Naval War Memorial. It also has 12 scheduled monuments.
About the middle for its size: 49% 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.
GCSE results trail 69% of towns in England, and primary results trail 64% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
City in Kent, England
Gillingham is a built-up area of 108,485 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.