Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,293 in Kent, South East.
Headcorn grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 21% of UK towns, and #61 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 40.6 violent and sexual offences and 20.3 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 9%. The median home sold for £390,000 in the last three years, 6.4 times what households in the Maidstone council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Headcorn 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 Headcorn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 40 buildings inside Headcorn’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% 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 Headcorn.
Burglary and damage came to 20.3 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Kent’s towns (12.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 230 crimes inside Headcorn’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 72 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 47% 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
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headcorn Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 401 | C |
On this, Headcorn is below both Kent’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). People 65 and over make up 25% of the town. Half the people of Headcorn are older than 45.2.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Headcorn | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
In the comparison, Headcorn comes below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). 71% of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £500,000 | 68 |
| Semi-detached | £380,000 | 51 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 36 |
| Flat or maisonette | £205,000 | 17 |
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 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Headcorn, that is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). 79% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Headcorn has 40 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*. 14% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
83% of Headcorn’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 | Headcorn | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Headcorn. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageSutton Valence Castle4.3 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumLashenden Air Warfare Museum1.6 km outside town, to the southeastZooZooThe Big Cat Sanctuary1.7 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
40 listed buildings in Headcorn, 1 of them Grade I.
Cloth Hall: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Headcorn Manor: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Hubble's Stores Post Office: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Baptist Chapel: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headcorn | 3,293 | — | C− | C− | D | B |
| Staplehurst | 6,181 | 3.3 | C | C | C+ | B− |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 3.4 | — | C− | C+ | B |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 3.8 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Kingswood | 1,371 | 4 | — | C− | A− | B |
| Lenham and Harrietsham | 4,763 | 5.6 | C− | C | C− | B+ |
| Marden | 3,489 | 5.9 | B | C− | C | B |
| Bethersden | 1,008 | 6.2 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
Sutton Valence, Biddenden, Kingswood and Bethersden have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter and St Paul.
Band D council tax in Headcorn is £2,636 for 2026–27, more than in 91% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Kent, England
Headcorn is a built-up area of 3,293 people, in the Maidstone 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.