Maidstone grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 44% of UK towns, and #35 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 46.4 violent and sexual offences and 17 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 40%. The median home sold for £335,000 in the last three years, 5.5 times what households in the Maidstone council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Maidstone is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Maidstone.
Safety
Maidstone has more crime per resident than 90% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 46.4 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Kent’s towns (23.9) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 9,659 crimes inside Maidstone’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 2,437 reports of anti-social behaviour.
46.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 40% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual4,436
Shoplifting1,092
Damage & arson1,064
Other theft825
Public order494
Drugs463
Vehicle crime410
Other crime341
Anti-social2,437
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.
46.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
17
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
20.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
374 listed buildings, 8 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Maidstone has 374 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 8 Grade I, 26 Grade II*. Maidstone’s listed buildings include Allington Castle, Grade I. Conservation areas cover 2% of Maidstone’s land, below Kent’s towns (15%) and close to England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
84% of residents say their health is good or very good
84% of Maidstone’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.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for England
11% of residents are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over, against 11% and 19% across Kent’s towns. 29% of residents 16 and over have a degree-level qualification (Kent 29%, England 34%).
38.5median age
MaidstoneKentEngland
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level29%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Robert Fisk: Alan Liefting, Public domain · William Hazlitt: John Hazlitt, Public domain · Jojo Moyes: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alessia Russo: James Boyes, CC BY 2.0 · Mackenzie Crook: Elyot Boudart, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John Gribbin: AlJ1964, CC BY-SA 2.0
Eccles, Wateringbury, Burham and Sutton Valence have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Maidstone
Is Maidstone safe?
About the middle for its size: 60% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D. Police recorded 9,659 crimes inside Maidstone’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 46% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
How many listed buildings are there in Maidstone?
That is 1.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Allington Castle. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Are schools in Maidstone good?
GCSE results beat 78% of towns in England, and primary results beat 75% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Does Maidstone flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Maidstone
City in Kent, England
Maidstone is a built-up area of 109,503 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
Population
109,503 (Census 2021)
Council
Maidstone (mostly)
County
Kent
Region
South East
Area
9.5 sq mi (24.5 km²)
ONS code
E63005466
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.
