Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This village in Kent, South East has a population of 1,201. Over-65s are 39% of the population.
Safety is its strong suit: 18 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 8.6 home and vehicle crimes. Schools lag: primary results beat 21% of towns in England. Prices are high against local incomes: homes sell for a median £495,000, about 8.4 times local household income. Natural hazards weigh more here: 4% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. Woodchurch has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
The 3 things Woodchurch 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 Woodchurch is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Woodchurch has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Woodchurch’s built-up area.
30% 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 Woodchurch.
People 65 and over make up nearly two fifths of the town, above Kent’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. Woodchurch has a median age of 56.8 years. Graduates make up 27% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Woodchurch | Kent | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 12% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 39% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Kent and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 100% of Woodchurch’s land, higher than both Kent’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (7%). Its listed buildings include the Parish Church of All Saints, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 34 listed buildings in the town: 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*. 30% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Woodchurch has 0.8 jobs. The car took nine in ten commuters, higher than both Kent’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%). Households take home £62K a year before tax, on average. 4% of commuters who live in Woodchurch also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Owners make up 77% of households, above both Kent’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Social renters account for 13% of households. Behind the median of £495,000: 32 standard sales inside Woodchurch’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £615,000 | 19 |
| Semi-detached | £375,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 28 recorded crimes inside Woodchurch’s built-up area, and 3 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 2.2 reports per 1,000, below Kent’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over a fifth of recorded 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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The nearest A&E to Woodchurch is William Harvey Hospital, 7.6 miles away. At the census, nearly three quarters of people in Woodchurch called their health good or very good, below Kent’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 6.5% of residents report bad or very bad health. One GP practice serves the town; 98% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Woodchurch | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodchurch | 1,201 | — | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Shadoxhurst | 1,009 | 3 | — | C− | A | B− |
| Hamstreet | 1,738 | 3.4 | — | C | B− | B |
| Tenterden | 7,775 | 3.6 | C | C− | C | B+ |
| Bethersden | 1,008 | 3.8 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Finberry | 1,571 | 5.9 | — | C | C+ | B+ |
| Ashford | 82,143 | 6.2 | C+ | B | C− | C− |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 6.6 | — | C | C+ | A− |
Shadoxhurst, Hamstreet, Bethersden, Finberry and Biddenden have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 39% of residents were 65 or over and 28% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 12% were under 15.
That is 11.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of All Saints.
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 £495,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: semi-detached houses £375,000 and detached houses £615,000.
Village in Kent, England
Woodchurch is a built-up area of 1,201 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.