Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 15,462 in Kent, South East.
Swanscombe grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 45% of UK towns, and #34 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 24% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 36.8 violent and sexual offences and 21.3 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 25%. The median home sold for £331,000 in the last three years, 5.1 times what households in the Dartford council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Swanscombe 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 Swanscombe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 29 buildings inside Swanscombe’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
17% 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 Swanscombe. Best known first.
CastleStone Castle100 m outside town, to the southwest
Fort · English HeritageTilbury Fort4.2 km outside town, to the east
CastleNew Tavern Fort4.3 km outside town, to the east
PierGravesend town pier3.9 km outside town, to the east
MuseumDartford Borough Museum and Library3.9 km outside town, to the westTheme parkTheme parkLondon Paramount800 m outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Swanscombe.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Swanscombe comes above both Kent’s towns (2.7%) and England’s towns (2.3%). The average household earns £65K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 692 | A− |
| Leigh Academy EbbsfleetLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 788 | C |
Homes saw 21.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Kent’s towns (12.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 1,135 crimes inside Swanscombe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 284 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Swanscombe records more crime per resident than 75% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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
For Swanscombe, that is below both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 81.5 on average and men to 77.2 (2019–23). 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 | Swanscombe | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Swanscombe sits below both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. Private renters make up 24% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £575,995 | 71 |
| Semi-detached | £407,500 | 130 |
| Terraced | £335,000 | 315 |
| Flat or maisonette | £241,000 | 184 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Swanscombe has 29 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 17% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Swanscombe above both Kent’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). 11% of residents are 65 or over. Swanscombe has a median age of 35.4.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swanscombe | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 34% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 11% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
29 listed buildings in Swanscombe, 1 of them Grade I.
Former Church of All Saints: Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sir John Franklin: Photo: canalandriversidepubs co uk · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ingress Abbey: Photo: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Ken Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in Swanscombe.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | — | C+ | B− | D | C− |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | 2,989 | 1 | B− | C+ | D− | C+ |
| Stone | 6,438 | 1.1 | C+ | C+ | D− | C− |
| Bean | 1,633 | 1.5 | — | C+ | C | C− |
| Northfleet | 29,892 | 2.4 | C | C | D | C− |
| Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock | 23,589 | 2.5 | B | C | D | C+ |
| Darenth | 2,588 | 2.6 | C | C+ | C− | C− |
| Grays | 44,340 | 3 | C+ | C | C− | C |
Bean has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 1,135 crimes inside Swanscombe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 40% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Kent, England
Swanscombe is a built-up area of 15,462 people, in the Dartford 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.