Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,332 residents make their home in this town in Kent, South East.
Health is its strong suit: life expectancy is 84.5 for men and 88.7 for women. The catch is cost of living (D) — homes sell for a median £615,000, about 8.9 times local household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of #4 of 87 in Kent. It comes out better than 86% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Otford and Kemsing 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 Otford and Kemsing is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 57 buildings inside Otford and Kemsing’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 4 scheduled monuments.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Otford and Kemsing. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustKnole House4.1 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseLullingstone Castle3.8 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseCombe Bank School4.5 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumShoreham Aircraft Museum1.3 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumSevenoaks Museum3.8 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Otford and Kemsing.
At the census, 3.4% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Kent’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. A disability affects 13% of people in Otford and Kemsing. The nearest A&E to Otford and Kemsing is Princess Royal University Hospital, 7.2 miles away. Self-reported good health: 87% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2021 | Otford and Kemsing | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Secondary results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 45.1, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Both of its schools are shown below. Otford and Kemsing’s two primaries have 433 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otford Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 239 | B |
| Kemsing Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 194 | A− |
One in ten households live in social housing. Owners make up just over four in five households, above both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Only one of the 87 towns in Kent costs more to buy into than Otford and Kemsing, whose median sale is £615,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £955,000 | 109 |
| Semi-detached | £560,000 | 114 |
| Terraced | £413,750 | 32 |
| Flat or maisonette | £270,250 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 184 offences in Otford and Kemsing and 48 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 39% of recorded crime. Burglary and damage add up to 11.9 per 1,000 residents each year.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 48% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
18% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below both Kent’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%). The census counted 48% of workers working mainly from home. Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Otford and Kemsing, 9% work in the town itself. Unemployment benefit claims reached 1.4% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
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.
Otford and Kemsing’s listed buildings include the Church of St Bartholomew, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 9% of the total, below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%). The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them. It has 57 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 7 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Children under 15 make up 19%, higher than both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Retirement age and beyond: 23% of residents are 65 or older. The median resident of Otford and Kemsing is 46.4 years old. Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Otford and Kemsing | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
57 listed buildings in Otford and Kemsing, 1 of them Grade I.
Otford Palace: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Chantry House: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Horns Public House: Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Forge House Tea Rooms: Photo: Nigel Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in Otford and Kemsing.
Edith of Wilton: Juan de las Roelas, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otford and Kemsing | 7,332 | — | A | D | B+ | A+ |
| Seal | 1,616 | 1.5 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Dunton Green | 3,241 | 1.8 | A− | C | B | A |
| Sevenoaks | 26,474 | 2.2 | A− | D | B− | A |
| West Kingsdown | 4,306 | 3.6 | B− | C | B | B |
| Sundridge | 1,190 | 3.9 | — | C− | C | A |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 3.9 | — | D | B− | A− |
| Ightham | 2,037 | 4 | — | D | A+ | A |
Seal, Sundridge, Eynsford and Ightham 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 £615,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £270,250, terraced houses £413,750, semi-detached houses £560,000 and detached houses £955,000.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Bartholomew. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 78% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Town in Kent, England
Otford and Kemsing is a built-up area of 7,332 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.