Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 664 in Kent, South East.
Smarden has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
The 3 things Smarden does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 55 buildings inside Smarden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
42% 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 Smarden.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Smarden, that is below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). At the census, 8% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smarden Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 172 | A− |
Smarden sits below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) on this measure. 22% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £695,000 | 7 |
| Semi-detached | £362,500 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 22 crimes inside Smarden’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 5 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 50% 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
That puts Smarden above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Smarden has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.7 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 | Smarden | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, Smarden is above both Kent’s towns (53) and England’s towns (39). Smarden’s listed buildings include Church of St Michael, Grade I. Smarden has 55 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 6 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Smarden comes below both Kent’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). People 65 and over make up 23% of the town. The median resident of Smarden is 47.6 years old.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Smarden | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smarden | 664 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Headcorn | 3,293 | 2.9 | C− | C− | D | B |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 3.2 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Bethersden | 1,008 | 3.3 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Tenterden | 7,775 | 5.2 | C | C− | C | B+ |
| Kingswood | 1,371 | 5.9 | — | C− | A− | B |
| Staplehurst | 6,181 | 6 | C | C | C+ | B− |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 6 | — | C− | C+ | B |
Biddenden, Bethersden, Kingswood 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.
That is 34 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Michael. 42% of Smarden’s homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
By type: semi-detached houses £362,500 and detached houses £695,000. Private rents in the Ashford council area averaged £1,248 a month in August 2026.
At the 2021 Census, 6.9% of Smarden’s 664 residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Village in Kent, England
Smarden is a built-up area of 664 people, in the Ashford 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.