Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,683 in Kent, South East.
Hawkhurst grades B+ overall against UK towns: better than 68% of UK towns, and #14 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is schools (A): primary results beat 90% of towns in England. Its weakest is safety (C): 30 violent and sexual offences and 15.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 24%. The median home sold for £387,500 in the last three years, 5.7 times what households in the Tunbridge Wells council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Hawkhurst 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 Hawkhurst is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 105 buildings inside Hawkhurst’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
34% 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 1852.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hawkhurst. Best known first.
Castle · National TrustBodiam Castle4.1 km outside town, to the southeast
GardenBedgebury National Pinetum3.6 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionKing John’s Lodge Nursery Garden3.9 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hawkhurst.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Hawkhurst’s land, 100% lies in conservation areas, above both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (7%). For its size, Hawkhurst has 285 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Hawkhurst’s listed buildings include Church of St Laurence, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkhurst Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 192 | B |
Homes saw 15.3 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 199 crimes inside Hawkhurst’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 47 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Hawkhurst records more crime per resident than 76% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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
82% of Hawkhurst’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 | Hawkhurst | 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
In the comparison, Hawkhurst comes below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £647,500 | 48 |
| Semi-detached | £345,000 | 41 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 47 |
| Flat or maisonette | £405,000 | 32 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Hawkhurst, that is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). At the census, 15% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Hawkhurst sits above both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.2% of residents. Half the people of Hawkhurst are older than 47.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Hawkhurst | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
105 listed buildings in Hawkhurst, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Laurence: Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marlborough House School: Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wetheringhope and Wall Attached: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Royal Oak Inn: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0
7 notable people were born in Hawkhurst.
Nick Brown: Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0 · Philip Langridge: Johnny Langridge, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nathaniel Lardner: Engraving by Thomas Kitchin, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkhurst | 3,683 | — | B+ | C+ | C | B+ |
| Hurst Green | 1,181 | 2.6 | — | D− | B | A |
| Benenden | 1,409 | 3.4 | — | C− | A | B+ |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 3.7 | B | C+ | C− | B |
| Ticehurst | 1,464 | 4.2 | — | D− | C− | A− |
| Robertsbridge | 1,439 | 4.6 | — | D− | D | A |
| Goudhurst | 1,104 | 5.1 | — | B− | C+ | A |
| Northiam | 1,910 | 5.2 | — | D− | A− | B− |
Hurst Green, Benenden, Ticehurst, Robertsbridge, Goudhurst and Northiam have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 11.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Laurence.
Primary results beat 90% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Kent council.
Police recorded 199 crimes inside Hawkhurst’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 45% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking. Burglary was rare, with 5 reports in the year.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £387,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £405,000, terraced houses £310,000, semi-detached houses £345,000 and detached houses £647,500.
Town in Kent, England
Hawkhurst is a built-up area of 3,683 people, in the Tunbridge Wells 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.