Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,775 in Kent, South East.
Tenterden grades C overall against UK towns: better than 25% of UK towns, and #58 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (B+): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is schools (D−): primary results beat 5% of towns in England; secondary results beat 2% of towns in England. The median home sold for £420,000 in the last three years, 7.1 times what households in the Ashford council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Tenterden 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 Tenterden is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 151 buildings inside Tenterden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
19% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1908.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Tenterden. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustSmallhythe Place2.9 km outside town, to the south
GardenHole Park Gardens3 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumColonel Stephens Railway Museumin townMuseumMuseumTenterden District Museumin townMuseumMuseumExhibition and Model Railwayin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tenterden.
Children are 13% of the town. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly one in ten residents, below Kent’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Tenterden has a median age of 54.4 years.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
| Tenterden | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 35% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 48% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: just over a fifth of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 37.7.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenterden Church of England Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 206 | D |
| Homewood School and Sixth Form CentreLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,772 | D |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Per 10,000 residents, Tenterden counts 194 listed buildings. The town’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mildred, Grade I. Grade II* covers 12 of them, Grade I 1. Of the town’s 151 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 1 and Grade II* 12.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
72% of households own their home. Social housing holds 12% of households, lower than both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of the 416 standard sales inside Tenterden’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £420,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £600,000 | 180 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 110 |
| Terraced | £345,000 | 66 |
| Flat or maisonette | £300,000 | 60 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Men in Tenterden can expect to live to 81.3, women to 85 (2019–23). A disability affects a fifth of people in the town. The nearest A&E to Tenterden is William Harvey Hospital, 10.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Tenterden | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £54K a year before tax, lower than Kent’s towns (£61K) and near England’s towns (£55K). 80% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Work in town: 31% of resident commuters. There are 1 jobs in Tenterden for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 47% of recorded crime. Over the year to August 2026, 418 offences were reported in Tenterden, along with 119 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Homes saw 12.4 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, about level with Kent’s towns (12.3) and above 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.
151 listed buildings in Tenterden, 1 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Mildred: Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Maynard's Farmhouse: Photo: Roger W Haworth · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Lemon Tree: Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pittlesden Gatehouse: Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0
14 notable people were born in Tenterden.
David Frost: Robert D. Ward, Public domain · Peter Rodger: Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office, Public domain · James H. Osmer: Charles A. Babcock, compiler and editor. J. H. Beers & Company (Chicago, IL), publisher., Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenterden | 7,775 | — | C | C− | C | B+ |
| Woodchurch | 1,201 | 3.6 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 3.7 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Bethersden | 1,008 | 4.5 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Benenden | 1,409 | 5 | — | C− | A | B+ |
| Shadoxhurst | 1,009 | 6 | — | C− | A | B− |
| Northiam | 1,910 | 6.5 | — | D− | A− | B− |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 7 | B | C+ | C− | B |
Woodchurch, Biddenden, Bethersden, Benenden, Shadoxhurst and Northiam have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Mildred.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £420,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £300,000, terraced houses £345,000, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £600,000.
Town in Kent, England
Tenterden is a built-up area of 7,775 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.