Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 1,247 people live in this village, in Kent, South East. 15% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Schools are its strong suit: primary results beat just over four in five towns in England. Health is a strength too: life expectancy is 81.7 for men and 83.6 for women. Buying in is costly: homes sell for a median £455,000, about 6.6 times local household income. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety, B− for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021. Below 2,500 residents there is no overall grade, so Horton Kirby has its subject grades alone.
The 3 things Horton Kirby 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 Horton Kirby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Horton Kirby’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
25% 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 Horton Kirby.
Horton Kirby Church of England Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Below is its only school. At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, just over two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horton Kirby Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 212 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Horton Kirby has 24 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*. Per 10,000 residents, Horton Kirby counts 192 listed buildings. Homes from before 1919 make up 25% of the total, above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 74% of households, above Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £1,809 a month across the Sevenoaks council area. The median sale, £455,000, comes from 32 standard sales inside Horton Kirby’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £825,000 | 6 |
| Semi-detached | £455,000 | 14 |
| Terraced | £391,250 | 10 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
At the census, nearly a fifth of people here had a disability, above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). There is no GP practice in Horton Kirby: the nearest is 1.3 miles off. The nearest A&E to Horton Kirby is Darent Valley Hospital, 3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Horton Kirby | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 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 · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
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.
For every resident in work, Horton Kirby has 0.4 jobs. The car took 82% of commuters, higher than both Kent’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%). Among 16 to 64s, 3.3% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Of all the crimes, 41% were violence and sexual offences. Violence came to 16.3 per 1,000 residents a year, below Kent’s towns (24.1) and England’s towns (22) alike. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 49 recorded crimes inside Horton Kirby’s built-up area, and 15 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Horton Kirby has more crime per resident than nearly three quarters of them.
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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Children under 15 make up 16%, below both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town. Horton Kirby has a median age of 49.3 years. Also worth knowing: among adults, 25% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Horton Kirby | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 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 Horton Kirby. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageEynsford Castle2.4 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseLullingstone Castle4.2 km outside town, to the southwestGardenGarden · National TrustSt John's Jerusalem1.7 km outside town, to the northZooZooEagle Heights Wildlife Centre3.6 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionBrands Hatch Circuit3.2 km outside town, to the southHistoric siteHistoric siteLullingstone Roman Villa3.8 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horton Kirby | 1,247 | — | — | C− | B− | B+ |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 0.8 | A− | B+ | C | B− |
| Farningham | 1,279 | 1.5 | — | C− | B− | A− |
| Darenth | 2,588 | 2 | C | C+ | C− | C− |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 2.3 | — | D | B− | A− |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 2.3 | — | C− | B | B |
| Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley | 16,077 | 2.9 | B | C− | B− | B |
| Bean | 1,633 | 3.1 | — | C+ | C | C− |
Farningham, Eynsford, Hawley and Bean have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.9 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Primary results beat 82% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Kent council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £455,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £391,250, semi-detached houses £455,000 and detached houses £825,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in Kent, England
Horton Kirby is a built-up area of 1,247 people, in the Sevenoaks 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.