OpenCrime

The safest places to live in Kent

Of the 13 local authority areas in Kent with a full year of published data, the lowest recorded crime rates are in Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells. Sevenoaks's figure is 63.0 offences per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to June 2026, about 31% below the England and Wales average of 91.2. Nationally, its rate is the 64th lowest of the 314 ranked areas.

13 areas ranked, every one with a full year of published data
91.2 England and Wales average, crimes per 1,000 residents
63.0 lowest rate in the table, Sevenoaks

What this ranks. Crimes the police recorded, per 1,000 residents, in the 12 months to June 2026. It is not a measure of how much crime happened: somewhere people report more looks worse than somewhere people report less. Town centres carry the crime of everyone who visits them against the population of the few who live there, which is why compact city districts sit near the top and rural districts near the bottom. Areas whose police force has stopped filing returns are left out entirely rather than shown as safe. How the figures work sets all of it out.

Every area in Kent

Lowest recorded crime rate first. Rank 1 in the England and Wales column is the highest recorded rate in the country.

# Area County Per 1,000 Per 1,000 workday Offences Year on year Rank in E&W
1 Sevenoaks Kent 63.0 64.5 7,738 -2.6% 251 of 314
2 Tonbridge and Malling Kent 66.8 68.4 9,141 +0.7% 237 of 314
3 Tunbridge Wells Kent 67.7 68.0 8,097 +0.5% 231 of 314
4 Ashford Kent 77.1 82.0 10,863 -1.6% 199 of 314
5 Folkestone and Hythe Kent 84.1 88.4 9,449 -0.6% 164 of 314
6 Dover Kent 86.9 94.4 10,408 -5.2% 148 of 314
7 Maidstone Kent 87.5 94.5 16,430 -2.3% 143 of 314
8 Gravesham Kent 94.2 106.4 10,427 -11.8% 119 of 314
9 Swale Kent 100.0 108.0 15,839 -4.1% 99 of 314
10 Medway Kent 101.9 113.3 29,823 -4.2% 92 of 314
11 Canterbury Kent 109.3 110.6 17,724 +8.6% 74 of 314
12 Dartford Kent 109.5 113.6 13,691 +1.2% 73 of 314
13 Thanet Kent 116.2 121.8 16,573 -3.8% 56 of 314

Home Office recorded crime, published at data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence. The ranking uses ONS mid-year resident estimates, which is what the rest of the field publishes. The second column divides the same crimes by the Census 2021 workday population, everyone who is in the area during the working day rather than only those who sleep there. Where the two disagree sharply the place is a town centre, and the workday figure is the fairer one. Census day fell under Covid restrictions with widespread home working, so central London workday counts are lower than a normal year. Rank 1 in the England and Wales column is the highest recorded resident rate in the country.

The other end of the table

This table runs from the lowest rate. For the same areas ranked the other way, see where crime is highest. To put two specific places side by side, use the comparison tool.

Safest places by county

The same table cut to one county, for counties with at least three published areas.

Ranked by a single offence

The same areas over the same year, ranked one offence at a time. The order changes a great deal between them: shoplifting concentrates where the shops are, bicycle theft where the bicycles are, and neither follows the overall rate.

Figures cover the 12 months to June 2026, the most recent month any force has published. Police data arrives roughly two months in arrears.