Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Kent, South East, home to 9,632 people.
A solid town with one catch. Its schools beat most: primary results beat 81% of towns in England; secondary results beat 99% of towns in England. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: on the way to work, 25% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Housing is expensive: a typical home costs £422,500 and rent runs £1,533 a month. The overall grade lands at A−, better than 78% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #10 of 87 in Kent. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety and B− for health.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Southborough 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 Southborough is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 26 buildings inside Southborough’s built-up area.
37% 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 Southborough.
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the 11 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 61.4, with 74% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 68% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southborough CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 631 | A− |
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.
Household income came to £67K a year before tax, above Kent’s towns (£61K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Working from home was the norm for 38% of workers at the census. About 10% of its commuters stay in Southborough for work. Among 16 to 64s, 2.8% claimed unemployment benefits 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.
Homes from before 1919 make up 37% of the total, above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II covers all 26 listed buildings that Historic England records here. Listed buildings per head: 27 for every 10,000 residents of Southborough.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds nearly a fifth of households, higher than both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). The £422,500 median rests on 364 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Households that own their home make up 64%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £785,000 | 77 |
| Semi-detached | £445,000 | 121 |
| Terraced | £382,500 | 102 |
| Flat or maisonette | £225,000 | 64 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 44% of recorded crime. Police recorded 405 crimes inside Southborough’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 66 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage came to 9.8 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than Kent’s towns (12.3) and near England’s towns (9.4).
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.
One GP practice serves the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 16% of residents have a disability, lower than both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Southborough is The Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, 2.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Southborough | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Line up the people of Southborough by age and the one in the middle is 41.9. 20% are under 15, higher than both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 10% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Southborough | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 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 Southborough. Best known first.
CastleTonbridge Castle Gatehouse3.2 km outside town, to the north
CastleSomerhill House3.1 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseSalomons Museum400 m outside town, to the west
Heritage railwaySpa Valley Railway3.3 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric houseHistoric housePenshurst Place4.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumThe Amelia Scott2 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
26 listed buildings in Southborough.
Former Bat and Ball Public House: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Valley House: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Stuart Cottage: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Woodcote: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0
8 notable people were born in Southborough.
Kenneth Hutchings: George Beldam, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southborough | 9,632 | — | A− | C | B− | B− |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,215 | 1.5 | A− | C+ | C | B |
| Rusthall and Langton Green | 7,783 | 2.1 | A | C | B | B |
| Pembury | 5,783 | 3 | B− | C | C− | B− |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 3.2 | B+ | C+ | C | B− |
| Leigh | 1,104 | 3.3 | — | D | A | A+ |
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 3.8 | A+ | C− | A | A |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 4.4 | — | C+ | B | B− |
Leigh and Five Oak Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 99% of towns in England, and primary results beat 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Southborough has 2 state schools; places are handled by Kent council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £422,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £225,000, terraced houses £382,500, semi-detached houses £445,000 and detached houses £785,000.
Town in Kent, England
Southborough is a built-up area of 9,632 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.