Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 32,185 in Kent, South East.
Whitstable grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 20% of UK towns, and #63 of 87 in Kent. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £400,000, 7.2 years of area income; rent £1,280 a month.
The 3 things Whitstable 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 Whitstable is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 99 buildings inside Whitstable’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1903.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Whitstable.
In the comparison, Whitstable comes above both Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Under-15s account for 14% of the population. The median resident of Whitstable is 51.3 years old.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Whitstable | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joy Lane Primary Foundation SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 621 | C |
| The Whitstable SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,112 | D |
For Whitstable, that is above both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 8% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £528,500 | 519 |
| Semi-detached | £370,000 | 480 |
| Terraced | £377,500 | 240 |
| Flat or maisonette | £215,000 | 207 |
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 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Whitstable sits below both Kent’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. 76% 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
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 2,146 crimes inside Whitstable’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 459 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 39% 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
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Whitstable has 99 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 15% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
81% of Whitstable’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 82% across Kent’s towns. 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 | Whitstable | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Whitstable. Best known first.
MuseumWhitstable Museum and Galleryin town
CastleWhitstable Castlein town
MuseumThe Seaside Museum3.4 km outside town, to the east
GardenMount Ephraim Gardens5 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric shipHistoric shipFavouritein townWildlife parkWildlife parkWildwood3.1 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
99 listed buildings in Whitstable.
Church of All Saints: Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tankerton Castle: Photo: Lieven Smits · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bear and Key Hotel: Photo: Back ache · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St John (Methodist): Photo: FromMorningToMidnight · CC BY-SA 4.0
26 notable people were born in Whitstable.
Peter Guinness: KeithJustKeith, CC BY 2.0 · Brian Hopper: Rcarlberg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Matthew Holness: British Library, CC BY 3.0 · Fiona Reid: Canada's Theatre Museum, CC BY 3.0 · Roger Turner: Andy Newcombe, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitstable | 32,185 | — | C− | D | C | B− |
| Blean | 1,327 | 3.1 | — | D | A | A− |
| Herne | 14,874 | 3.9 | C | C− | B | C |
| Rough Common | 1,291 | 4.1 | — | D | A− | A− |
| Herne Bay | 24,873 | 4.2 | D− | C− | C− | C− |
| Sturry | 4,857 | 5.2 | D | C | C | C |
| Canterbury | 55,107 | 5.2 | C− | C | D− | C |
| Boughton under Blean | 2,274 | 5.3 | — | C | B | B |
Blean, Rough Common and Boughton under Blean have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
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 £400,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £215,000, terraced houses £377,500, semi-detached houses £370,000 and detached houses £528,500.
Large town in Kent, England
Whitstable is a built-up area of 32,185 people, in the Canterbury 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.