County ranking

Best places to live in Kent

30 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.

30 Towns listed of 69 that qualify
67 Top score Chatham
51 County median UK median 54
4 Above 65 roughly the UK top eighth

We score 69 Kent towns with a population above 3,000 and data in at least 8 of our 9 categories. Here are the top 30, ranked by overall score. The top two are all but level: Chatham on 67/100, Gillingham (Medway) on 66. Above 65/100, which roughly one in eight UK towns this size reaches, Kent has four: Chatham (67), Gillingham (Medway) (66), Southborough (66) and Rochester (65).

Across all 69 qualifying towns the county median is 51/100, 3 points below the 54/100 median for UK towns of this size. Chatham is the cheapest way into the top five, with a median house price of £290,000 against £485,000 in Southborough. Royal Tunbridge Wells's fifth place leans heavily on one category: healthcare, at 77/100 against a national town median of 18/100, far further ahead of the norm than its schools, the next strongest. Full breakdowns for the leaders: Chatham, Gillingham (Medway) and Southborough.

The top 30 places to live in Kent, ranked by overall score out of 100
# Town Score Strongest categories Population Median price
1 Chatham 67 Lifestyle 90 Healthcare 78 74,148 £290,000
2 Gillingham (Medway) 66 Lifestyle 92 Healthcare 77 97,599 £311,750
3 Southborough 66 Healthcare 70 Schools 65 9,671 £485,000
4 Rochester 65 Lifestyle 81 Schools 77 63,983 £305,000
5 Royal Tunbridge Wells 64 Healthcare 77 Schools 64 48,654 £410,000
6 Gravesend 61 Lifestyle 83 Schools 76 57,611 £345,000
7 Maidstone 61 Healthcare 73 Schools 71 100,971 £325,000
8 Northfleet 61 Lifestyle 85 Schools 80 26,681 £325,000
9 Dartford 60 Healthcare 79 Lifestyle 73 58,818 £363,000
10 Ashford (Ashford) 59 Transport 61 Lifestyle 59 77,881 £310,000
11 Folkestone 59 Lifestyle 83 Healthcare 75 52,479 £275,000
12 Sevenoaks 59 Healthcare 54 Lifestyle 53 26,608 £690,000
13 Broadstairs 58 Transport 72 Lifestyle 63 24,592 £345,000
14 Deal 58 Healthcare 61 Transport 57 26,403 £295,000
15 Joyden's Wood 58 Schools 61 Transport 56 4,828 £510,000
16 Hextable 57 Schools 62 Lifestyle 58 4,010 £460,000
17 Sittingbourne 57 Healthcare 68 Schools 63 43,576 £295,000
18 Herne 56 Lifestyle 58 Transport 49 13,882 £328,375
19 Hildenborough 56 Healthcare 45 Transport 48 4,730 £625,000
20 Larkfield 56 Schools 59 Transport 54 24,624 £390,000
21 Hythe 55 Lifestyle 52 Healthcare 46 14,464 £367,500
22 Kings Hill 55 Healthcare 61 Schools 45 9,673 £585,000
23 Tonbridge 55 Lifestyle 57 Transport 53 32,379 £415,000
24 Bearsted 54 Healthcare 46 Schools 49 8,468 £457,500
25 Otford and Kemsing 54 Lifestyle 53 Transport 35 6,630 £640,000
26 Dover 53 Healthcare 72 Schools 67 36,217 £220,000
27 Hawkinge 53 Lifestyle 58 Broadband 88 7,732 £350,500
28 Iwade 53 Broadband 92 Transport 37 3,788 £352,500
29 Ramsgate 53 Transport 72 Schools 67 41,319 £257,500
30 Swanley 53 Lifestyle 75 Schools 56 16,855 £417,700

Ranked on the default weighting, out of 100. Strongest categories are the two furthest above the national median for that category, not simply the two highest numbers. Almost every town scores well on safety, so raw highs would say little.

Find your own best place in Kent

The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 69 qualifying towns around what you actually care about — who's moving, a minimum on one category, a price ceiling for the type of home you'd buy.

Pick a persona or set a filter to re-rank 69 towns in place.

Also in Kent, below the top 30: Borough GreenMargateRusthall and Langton GreenSwanscombeHalfway HousesHawkhurstMeophamCanterbury
31 moreShow fewerCoxheathHerne BayFavershamWhitfield (Dover)Longfield, New Ash Green and HartleyMinster (Swale)PemburySandwichSnodlandWhitstableHoo St WerburghSheernessQueenboroughCranbrook (Tunbridge Wells)EdenbridgeSouth Darenth and Sutton at HoneTenterdenLittlestone-on-SeaNew RomneyHeadcornMarden (Maidstone)WesterhamDymchurchMinster (Thanet)Paddock WoodSturryWest KingsdownCharthamLyddStaplehurstTeynham

How this ranking was built

Every settlement in Kent was scored across 9 categories (safety, schools, healthcare, transport, environment, broadband, lifestyle, economic health and bills) from official sources including Police UK, Ofsted, the CQC, Ofcom, the Environment Agency and MHCLG. Two filters then decide who appears here:

Counties are ceremonial, and a town belongs to the county its postcodes physically sit in, so border towns land where residents would expect them to.

Check your exact postcode

Get a personalised score for any UK postcode, tailored to what matters most to you.

Score my postcode