Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,168 in Kent, South East.
Hadlow grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 41% of UK towns, and #39 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is safety (B): 19.6 violent and sexual offences and 8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is schools (C−): primary results beat 47% of towns in England; secondary results beat 3% of towns in England. The median home sold for £400,000 in the last three years, 6 times what households in the Tonbridge and Malling council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Hadlow 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 Hadlow is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 66 buildings inside Hadlow’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
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 1838.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hadlow.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Hadlow sits above both Kent’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39) on this measure. Hadlow’s listed buildings include Hadlow Tower, Hadlow Castle, Grade I. Hadlow has 66 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 5 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadlow Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 187 | C |
| Hadlow Rural Community SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 377 | D |
That puts Hadlow below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). 26% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £725,000 | 19 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 35 |
| Terraced | £337,500 | 22 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 122 crimes inside Hadlow’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 12 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 4.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below both Kent’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 50% 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
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Hadlow is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 81% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
81% of Hadlow’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 | Hadlow | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Hadlow comes above both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Children are 16% of the town. Hadlow has a median age of 46.7.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Hadlow | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hadlow. Best known first.
CastleHadlow Castlein town
CastleTonbridge Castle Gatehouse4.1 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleMereworth Castle3.9 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic house · National TrustOld Soar Manor3.5 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseOxon Hoath1.4 km outside town, to the north
CastleSomerhill House4.2 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
66 listed buildings in Hadlow, 1 of them Grade I.
Hadlow Tower, Hadlow Castle: Photo: Christopher Nicol · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · North Lodge: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Prince of Wales Public House: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in Hadlow.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hadlow | 3,168 | — | C+ | C+ | B | B− |
| East Peckham | 2,144 | 2.4 | — | C | B | B− |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 2.6 | — | D | A+ | A |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 3 | — | C+ | B | B− |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 3.1 | B+ | C+ | C | B− |
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 3.9 | A+ | C− | A | A |
| Paddock Wood | 7,616 | 4 | C | C | C− | B |
| Wateringbury | 2,248 | 4.1 | — | C+ | B | A |
East Peckham, Plaxtol, Five Oak Green and Wateringbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Hadlow Tower, Hadlow Castle.
Hadlow has 2 state schools; places are handled by Kent council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £400,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £190,000, terraced houses £337,500, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £725,000.
Town in Kent, England
Hadlow is a built-up area of 3,168 people, in the Tonbridge and Malling 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.