Crap Towns / Kent / Gravesend
Gravesend
73/100Crap Score
Locals call it Gravo.
270th crappest of 984 towns, and 7th in Kent. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
Got something to say about Gravesend? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
The name's a fair review
Gravesend's always the hottest place on the weather map. The town centre's not so hot.
Gravesend's got the oldest cast-iron pier going and a name that sounds like a review. The high street chains have packed up, there's graffiti and litter everywhere, kids tear about on e-scooters and the centre's rough after dark. Ask a Gravesender and they'll say Dartford's worse. Course they will.
It's always the hot spot on the weather map, and it only rains on 109 days a year, so the bins go up nicely. Deliberate fires run at 2.7 times the typical town's rate, mostly bins and rubbish. The fly-tippers dump at twice the typical council's rate. Lovely day for it.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Gravesend's 90 for air pollution means it's crapper than 90% of towns.
- Air pollution90/10012.5 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.7 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Criminal damage and arson90/10011.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping85/10022.2 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Gravesham council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Deliberate fires84/10015.4 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Anti-social behaviour80/10021.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband80/10012.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 16.9% across the Gravesham council area
- Serious road collisions52/1002.4 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Sewage spills27/10079.5 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2024 to 2025
- Food hygiene8/1001.1% rated 0 to 2, of the 367 food businesses with a rating
- Rain4/100109 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Dartford | 80 |
| 4 | Canterbury | 80 |
| 5 | Northfleet | 75 |
| 6 | Sittingbourne | 74 |
| 7 | Gravesend | 73 |
| 8 | Dover | 72 |
| 9 | Rochester | 72 |
| 10 | Maidstone | 69 |
| 11 | Gillingham | 69 |
Gravesend by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 98.6 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 29% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 46 reports of fly-tipping on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 7.9 per 10,000 people, 7.2x the typical town's 1.1
- 3 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 27 pubs, 23 hairdressers, 4 charity shops, 3 bookmakers, 3 vape shops, 5 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 52) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 5.2 per 100,000 people, 1.5x the typical town's 3.4
- 12 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 2.1 per 10,000 people, 31% higher than the typical town's 1.6
- 1 public swimming pool open; 2 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.2 per 10,000 people, 71% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.27am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2.8x the typical town's 0.5%
- 8.7% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 44% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,686 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 10% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Gravesham council
Have a crap-off
Gravesend against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.