Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 58,105 in Kent, South East.
Gravesend grades D overall against UK towns: better than 14% of UK towns, and #72 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 24% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 45.1 violent and sexual offences and 23.1 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 30%. The median home sold for £337,750 in the last three years, 6 times what households in the Gravesham council area earn in a year.
The 2 things Gravesend 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 Gravesend is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 122 buildings inside Gravesend’s built-up area, 8 of them Grade II*, and 2 scheduled monuments.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 5 old photos and postcards going back to 1900.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Gravesend. Best known first.
CastleNew Tavern Fortin town
PierGravesend town pierin town
Fort · English HeritageTilbury Fort800 m outside town, to the north
FortCoalhouse Fort3 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseOwletts1.4 km outside town, to the southPierPierRoyal Terrace Pierin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gravesend.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Homes saw 23.1 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Kent’s towns (12.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 4,841 crimes inside Gravesend’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1,452 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 44% 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 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Catholic Primary School, GravesendLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 869 | A− |
| Saint George's Church of England SchoolLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 1,631 | C |
| Gravesend Grammar SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,495 | A+ |
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.
Gravesend sits above both Kent’s towns (2.7%) and England’s towns (2.3%) on this measure. For 37% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Women here live to 82.9 on average and men to 77.9 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Gravesend is Darent Valley Hospital, 5.3 miles away. 5 GP practices serve the town; 68% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Gravesend | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
19% live in social housing, above Kent’s towns (14%) and close to England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £503,500 | 170 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 528 |
| Terraced | £323,000 | 677 |
| Flat or maisonette | £175,000 | 271 |
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.
Gravesend has 122 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 8 Grade II*. 21% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Gravesend above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Those 65 and older account for 16% of residents. Half the people of Gravesend are older than 38.3.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Gravesend | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
122 listed buildings in Gravesend.
Church of St George: Photo: Agw19666 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · New Tavern Fort: Photo: Prioryman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Milton Chantry: Photo: Agw19666 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gravesend Railway Station (Downside): Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0
103 notable people were born in Gravesend.
Derek Barton: National Portrait Gallery, Public domain · Gemma Arterton: Donna Sydee, CC BY-SA 4.0 · George E. P. Box: DavidMCEddy at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Laura Coombs: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Georgia-Mae Fenton: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravesend | 58,105 | — | D | C− | D | C− |
| Northfleet | 29,892 | 1.6 | C | C | D | C− |
| Istead Rise | 3,398 | 2.1 | B+ | D | A | A− |
| Tilbury | 14,187 | 2.6 | C− | C+ | D− | D |
| Shorne | 1,038 | 2.6 | — | D | B | A− |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | 2,989 | 3.2 | B− | C+ | D− | C+ |
| Higham | 2,642 | 3.5 | B− | D | B− | A− |
| Meopham | 4,349 | 3.6 | B | D | B | A− |
Shorne has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 70% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £337,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £175,000, terraced houses £323,000, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £503,500.
Large town in Kent, England
Gravesend is a built-up area of 58,105 people, in the Gravesham 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.