Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village in Kent, South East, home to 857 people.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Saltwood is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. It has 10 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I. People aged 65 and over make up nearly a third of residents. 16% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
The 3 things Saltwood does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Saltwood’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
33% 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 Saltwood.
The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents; what’s more, 14% are under 15, below Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Half the people of Saltwood are older than 52.3. Degrees are held by 42% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Saltwood | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 17% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 36.1. Saltwood CofE Primary School’s results beat 77% of schools in England like it. Below are its two schools. Some 1,516 pupils attend the town’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saltwood CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | A− |
| Brockhill Park Performing Arts CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,314 | D− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 46% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
46% of workers worked mainly from home, above both Kent’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (31%). The car carried 81% of commuters at the census. About 8% of its commuters stay in Saltwood for work. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.6%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 4% of households, below Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,178 a month across the Folkestone and Hythe council area. The £437,500 median rests on 32 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £635,000 | 13 |
| Semi-detached | £379,000 | 8 |
| Terraced | £287,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
50% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 24 offences in Saltwood and 5 cases of nuisance behaviour. Burglary and damage come to 12.8 per 1,000 residents a year. There were 4.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Kent’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 nearest A&E to Saltwood is William Harvey Hospital, 8.1 miles away. At the census, 7.6% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. This Kent town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Saltwood | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover just over a fifth of Saltwood’s land, above both Kent’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (7%). For its size, Saltwood has 117 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Grade II* covers 1 of them, Grade I 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Saltwood. Best known first.
CastleSaltwood Castlein town
CastleLympne Castle3 km outside town, to the west
CastleWestenhanger Castle2.5 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleSandgate Castle 15394.5 km outside town, to the east
ZooPort Lympne Reserve4 km outside town, to the west
MuseumRailway Museum2.9 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saltwood | 857 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hythe | 14,613 | 0.7 | C | D | B− | C+ |
| Lympne | 1,074 | 2.2 | — | D | A+ | B− |
| Lyminge | 1,918 | 3.3 | — | D | A | A− |
| Folkestone | 51,987 | 3.9 | C− | C− | D | D |
| Hawkinge | 8,499 | 4.4 | C+ | D | B− | C |
| Dymchurch | 3,097 | 4.6 | D | D | C | C |
| Brabourne Lees | 1,479 | 5.4 | — | C− | A− | B+ |
Lympne, Lyminge and Brabourne Lees have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bastions and Curtain Wall About 10 Metres South East of Saltwood Castle. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £437,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £287,000, semi-detached houses £379,000 and detached houses £635,000.
Village in Kent, England
Saltwood is a built-up area of 857 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.