Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,209 in Kent, South East. Private rents average £1,809 a month.
Swanley grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 52% of UK towns, and #27 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 26% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C−): 35.7 violent and sexual offences and 16.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 34%. The median home sold for £396,500 in the last three years, 5.7 times what households in the Sevenoaks council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Swanley 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 Swanley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Swanley’s built-up area.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Swanley. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageEynsford Castle2.2 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseLullingstone Castle3 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseHall Place and Gardens4.3 km outside town, to the north
MuseumDartford Borough Museum and Library4.8 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumMetropolitan Police Museum4.7 km outside town, to the northwestGardenGarden · National TrustSt John's Jerusalem3 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Swanley.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Swanley above both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (7%). 6% of homes were built before 1919. Swanley has 3 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
Horizon Primary Academy’s results beat 94% of schools in England like it. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School, SwanleyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 318 | A− |
| Orchards AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 554 | D |
| Horizon Primary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 195 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 3.3% of 16 to 64s in 2026, above both Kent’s towns (2.7%) and England’s towns (2.3%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 16.8 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Kent’s towns (12.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 1,284 crimes inside Swanley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 319 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 42% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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, Swanley is above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). One GP practice serves the town; 73% 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 | Swanley | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Swanley comes below both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). 26% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £520,000 | 51 |
| Semi-detached | £430,000 | 257 |
| Terraced | £360,000 | 183 |
| Flat or maisonette | £220,000 | 110 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
For Swanley, that is below both Kent’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%). Children are 20% of the town. Swanley has a median age of 39.2.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swanley | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
5 notable people were born in Swanley.
Crispian St. Peters: Jamie Records, Public domain · Susan Whetnall: Bert Verhoeff / Anefo, CC0 · Mark Steel: Mark_Steel.jpg: Loz Pycock derivative work: ukexpat, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swanley | 17,209 | — | B− | C+ | C− | C− |
| Crockenhill | 1,569 | 1.2 | — | C | B− | B+ |
| Hextable | 4,100 | 1.2 | B+ | C | C+ | C+ |
| Joyden's Wood | 4,912 | 1.9 | A | C− | B+ | A |
| Farningham | 1,279 | 2.6 | — | C− | B− | A− |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 2.8 | — | C− | B | B |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 2.8 | — | D | B− | A− |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 3.2 | A− | B+ | C | B− |
Crockenhill, Farningham, Hawley and Eynsford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results beat 68%.
About the middle for its size: 66% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £396,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £220,000, terraced houses £360,000, semi-detached houses £430,000 and detached houses £520,000.
Town in Kent, England
Swanley is a built-up area of 17,209 people, in the Sevenoaks 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.