Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 14,613 in Kent, South East.
Hythe grades C overall against UK towns: better than 34% of UK towns, and #47 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 20% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 8.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £345,000 in the last three years, 6.6 times what households in the Folkestone and Hythe council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Hythe 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 Hythe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 114 buildings inside Hythe’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 6 scheduled monuments.
22% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1767.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hythe. Best known first.
CastleSaltwood Castle400 m outside town, to the north
CastleLympne Castle1.5 km outside town, to the west
Heritage railwayRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway3.6 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleWestenhanger Castle3 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleSandgate Castle 15391.7 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hythe.
On this, Hythe is above both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). 12% of residents are children under 15. Hythe has a median age of 55.5.
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.
| Hythe | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 35% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 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
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hythe Bay CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 220 | C |
| Seabrook Church of England Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 104 | A |
In the comparison, Hythe comes above both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). 11% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £600,000 | 177 |
| Semi-detached | £360,000 | 182 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 174 |
| Flat or maisonette | £233,870 | 176 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Hythe has 114 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*. 22% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · 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 Hythe, that is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). 77% 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
Hythe sits above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%) on this measure. The nearest A&E to Hythe is William Harvey Hospital, 8.8 miles away. 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 | Hythe | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Police recorded 651 crimes inside Hythe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 172 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 43% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
114 listed buildings in Hythe, 1 of them Grade I.
The Parish Church of St Leonard: Photo: DeFacto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Town Hall: Photo: Nilfanion · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Centuries, 1 and 2: Photo: David Kemp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Royal Military Canal, Scanlon's Bridge to Town Bridge: Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0
17 notable people were born in Hythe.
Robert Holdstock: Philippe Gindre, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Margaretta Louisa Lemon: Photographer unknown but likely Ralph Winwood Robinson (1862-1942), image owned by Surrey History Centre, Public domain · Rose Ayling-Ellis: Meena, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francis Pettit Smith: William Boxall, Public domain · Thomas Head Raddall: Chris Lund, Public domain · Charles Latham: National Library of Australia, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hythe | 14,613 | — | C | D | B− | C+ |
| Lympne | 1,074 | 2.6 | — | D | A+ | B− |
| Folkestone | 51,987 | 3.8 | C− | C− | D | D |
| Lyminge | 1,918 | 4 | — | D | A | A− |
| Dymchurch | 3,097 | 4.4 | D | D | C | C |
| Hawkinge | 8,499 | 4.6 | C+ | D | B− | C |
| Brabourne Lees | 1,479 | 6 | — | C− | A− | B+ |
| Capel-le-Ferne | 1,962 | 6.1 | — | C− | A− | B |
Lympne, Lyminge, Brabourne Lees and Capel-le-Ferne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is The Parish Church of St Leonard. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 77% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades B−.
Town in Kent, England
Hythe is a built-up area of 14,613 people, in the Folkestone and Hythe 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.