Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 14,874 in Kent, South East.
Herne grades C overall against UK towns: better than 34% of UK towns, and #46 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is safety (B): 21.7 violent and sexual offences and 7.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £335,000, 6 years of area income; rent £1,280 a month.
The 3 things Herne 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 Herne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 47 buildings inside Herne’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I.
6% 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 1903.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Herne.
For Herne, that is above both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 7% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £440,000 | 282 |
| Semi-detached | £315,000 | 272 |
| Terraced | £270,000 | 91 |
| Flat or maisonette | £188,000 | 43 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herne Church of England Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 375 | A+ |
| Herne Bay High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,507 | D |
81% of Herne’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 | Herne | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.4% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Herne sits below both Kent’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%) on this measure. The car carried 86% of commuters 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.
Herne has 47 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 6% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 7.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Kent’s towns (12.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 585 crimes inside Herne’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 129 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 55% 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
That puts Herne below both Kent’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%). Over-65s are 23% of the population. Herne has a median age of 45.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Herne | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 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 Herne. Best known first.
MuseumThe Seaside Museum1000 m outside town, to the north
MuseumWhitstable Museum and Gallery4.8 km outside town, to the west
CastleWhitstable Castle4.1 km outside town, to the westWildlife parkWildlife parkWildwood900 m outside town, to the southArt galleryArt galleryBay Art Gallery800 m outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionClock Tower1 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
47 listed buildings in Herne, 2 of them Grade I.
Herne Windmill: Photo: Jim Woodward-Nutt · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Martin: Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Underdown House: Photo: Storye book · CC BY 3.0 · The Share and Coulter Public House: Photo: Chris Whippet · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herne | 14,874 | — | C | C− | B | C |
| Herne Bay | 24,873 | 0.8 | D− | C− | C− | C− |
| Hersden | 2,118 | 3.3 | — | C+ | D | C |
| Sturry | 4,857 | 3.8 | D | C | C | C |
| Whitstable | 32,185 | 3.9 | C− | D | C | B− |
| Blean | 1,327 | 5 | — | D | A | A− |
| Rough Common | 1,291 | 5.6 | — | D | A− | A− |
| Canterbury | 55,107 | 5.6 | C− | C | D− | C |
Hersden, Blean and Rough Common have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £335,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £188,000, terraced houses £270,000, semi-detached houses £315,000 and detached houses £440,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Kent, England
Herne is a built-up area of 14,874 people, in the Canterbury 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.