Swale
Swale is a town or village in Kent, England. There are around 1 pharmacy and 1 restaurant and café, 15 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Teynham, 0.4 km away. There were around 43 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly anti-social behaviour. Covers 25 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, Swale is more deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). It is home to around 151,677 residents at roughly 406 people per km².
My Area Score
Challenged
Ranked 263rd of 294 English council areas — better than 11% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
15°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 23° / 14° · 27% rain
- Tomorrow: 24° / 14° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:24Sunset 19:22
12h 59m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
25US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Rochester Stoke, United Kingdom
Crime
37 reported · July 2026▲ 28% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour13
- Violence & sexual offences12
- Criminal damage & arson4
- Vehicle crime3
2 stop & searches · mostly articles for use in criminal damage
Neighbourhood team: Teynham and Lynsted · Kent
Local policing priorities
- Catapults.
- Antisocial behaviour youths.
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
274 reported road collisions (2024)
85 killed or seriously injured · 368 casualties · 18.1 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
31 food businesses within 2 miles
- 30 rated 4–5 ★ (26 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Teynham (0.4 km)
- 15 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Teynham (0.4 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£298,394 average▲ 4.5% YoY
Across Swale · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,103 average monthly rent▲ 0.9% YoY
- 1 bed £771
- 2 bed £1,019
- 3 bed £1,231
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
8.8× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 8.8 times median annual pay (9.4× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 163.9p · Asda (5.3 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 187.7p · Asda (5.3 km)
6 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
20 charging locations within ~8 km
- 4 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 75 kW
- Nearest: Swale House Car Park (5 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches2
- Playgrounds2
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
151,677 residents in Swale · 406/km²
- Under 16: 20%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 19%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
More deprived than the average in England
Ranked 69 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
19% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,406 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (27% of 67,440)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
71 schools · 24,238 pupils
49 primary · 9 secondary · 13 other
Ofsted: 18 of 23 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (78%)
61inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Highsted Grammar SchoolGood
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar SchoolGood
- The Sittingbourne SchoolGood
- Fulston Manor SchoolRequires improvement
- The Abbey SchoolInadequate
- Borden Grammar School
- EKC Sheppey Secondary
- Leigh Academy Minster
- Westlands School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Swale
Care & health services
1,672 CQC-registered services
- Care homes501
- GP practices221
- Dentists362
- Homecare agencies415
- Hospitals & hospices47
CQC ratings: 87% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 25 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Kent
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 52 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
154 applications decided
88.3% granted · 136 granted, 18 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Council control
Labour (minority)
- Lab 15
- Con 10
- LD 5
- Grn 2
- Ref 4
- Oth 11
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools2
- GPs & clinics1
- Pharmacies1
- Parks & greens80
- Restaurants & cafés3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
6,045 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
2 jobs advertised
e.g. Care Assistant Job in Swale
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£761 median full-time weekly pay
3.5% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£24,338 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
46% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 68,235 certificates
11.3% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 82.8 yrs women · 79.9 yrs men
71% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.4
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.8
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)2.8
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Faversham and Mid Kent:
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership471 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s399 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership387 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test377 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office327 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Teynham railway station · 0.4 kmTeynham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Teynham, Kent. It is 47 miles 74 chains (77.1 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Sittingbourne and Fav…
Teynham · 0.7 kmTeynham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish lies between the towns of Sittingbourne and Faversham, immediately north of the A2 road, and includes the hamlet of Cony…
Teynham Street · 1.3 kmTeynham Street is a hamlet in the civil parish of Teynham, in the Swale district, in the county of Kent, England.
Norton, Buckland and Stone · 1.4 kmNorton, Buckland and Stone is a small rural civil parish, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Teynham and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the centre of Faversham, in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. Its settlements are the hamlets o…
Mockbeggar, Swale · 1.4 kmMockbeggar is a hamlet lying north of the A2 road to the east of Teynham in Swale in Kent, England. It is in the civil parish of Norton, Buckland and Stone.
Lewson Street · 1.6 kmLewson Street is a village near the A2 road, in the civil parish of Norton, Buckland and Stone, in the Swale district, in the county of Kent, England. It is near the towns of Sittingbourne and Faversham.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)