Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,616 in Kent, South East.
Paddock Wood grades C overall against UK towns: better than 32% of UK towns, and #48 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 21% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 20% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £435,000 in the last three years, 6.4 times what households in the Tunbridge Wells council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Paddock Wood 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 Paddock Wood is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Paddock Wood’s built-up area.
9% 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 Paddock Wood.
In the comparison, Paddock Wood comes above both Kent’s towns (12.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence comes to 33.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 655 crimes inside Paddock Wood’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 147 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh Academy Paddock WoodLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 618 | A− |
| Leigh Academy MascallsLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,227 | C |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Paddock Wood, that is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 77% 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.
Of Paddock Wood’s land, 100% lies in conservation areas, above both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (7%). 9% of homes were built before 1919. Paddock Wood has 15 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Paddock Wood sits below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) on this measure. Owners make up 71% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £599,997 | 148 |
| Semi-detached | £410,000 | 148 |
| Terraced | £350,000 | 104 |
| Flat or maisonette | £218,000 | 43 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
That puts Paddock Wood below both Kent’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 70% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 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 | Paddock Wood | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
On this, Paddock Wood is above both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Children are 17% of the town. Paddock Wood has a median age of 44.9.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Paddock Wood | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 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 Paddock Wood. Best known first.
CastleHadlow Castle4.9 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionMatfield House1.9 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionTeapot Island3.4 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionHadlow Tower4.9 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
15 listed buildings in Paddock Wood.
The War Memorial: Photo: Poliphilo · CC0 · Burnside: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Rose Cottages: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Mascalls Pound: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddock Wood | 7,616 | — | C | C | C− | B |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 1.6 | — | C+ | B | B− |
| East Peckham | 2,144 | 2.4 | — | C | B | B− |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 3.3 | — | C | A− | A+ |
| Pembury | 5,783 | 3.5 | B− | C | C− | B− |
| Yalding | 1,549 | 3.8 | — | C | C | B+ |
| Hadlow | 3,168 | 4 | C+ | C+ | B | B− |
| Marden | 3,489 | 4.5 | B | C− | C | B |
Five Oak Green, East Peckham, Horsmonden and Yalding have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 84% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less. Police recorded 655 crimes inside Paddock Wood’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 34% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £435,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £218,000, terraced houses £350,000, semi-detached houses £410,000 and detached houses £599,997.
Town in Kent, England
Paddock Wood is a built-up area of 7,616 people, in the Tunbridge Wells 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.