Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,181 in Kent, South East.
Staplehurst grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #56 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is schools (D): primary results beat 10% of towns in England. The median home sold for £370,000 in the last three years, 6.1 times what households in the Maidstone council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Staplehurst 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 Staplehurst is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 59 buildings inside Staplehurst’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% 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 Staplehurst.
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staplehurst SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | – | D |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Staplehurst has 59 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 14% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Staplehurst sits above both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. 7% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £535,000 | 69 |
| Semi-detached | £370,000 | 112 |
| Terraced | £292,500 | 56 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Staplehurst below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). 80% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police recorded 275 crimes inside Staplehurst’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 87 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 47% 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
On this, Staplehurst is below both Kent’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Staplehurst has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.6 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 | Staplehurst | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Staplehurst comes below both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Over-65s are 22% of the population. The median resident of Staplehurst is 44.9 years old.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Staplehurst | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 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 Staplehurst. Best known first.
Garden · National TrustSissinghurst Castle and Garden4.2 km outside town, to the south
Castle · English HeritageSutton Valence Castle4.7 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumThe South East Romany Museum1.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
59 listed buildings in Staplehurst, 1 of them Grade I.
The King's Head Hotel: Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cromwell Farmhouse: Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staplehurst | 6,181 | — | C | C | C+ | B− |
| Marden | 3,489 | 2.6 | B | C− | C | B |
| Headcorn | 3,293 | 3.3 | C− | C− | D | B |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 3.8 | — | C− | C+ | B |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 4.9 | B | C+ | C− | B |
| Coxheath | 8,453 | 5 | C+ | C | B− | B |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 5.2 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 5.5 | — | C | A− | A+ |
Sutton Valence, Biddenden and Horsmonden have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of All Saints.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Kent council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £370,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £292,500, semi-detached houses £370,000 and detached houses £535,000.
Town in Kent, England
Staplehurst is a built-up area of 6,181 people, in the Maidstone 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.
