Biddenden, Smarden & High Halden

Ashford · South East · population 6,434 · 4 LSOAs

Approximate neighbourhood (MSOA) boundary. © OpenStreetMap contributors; boundary © ONS / Crown copyright.

42Area Score / 100 ?
  • #3,988 of 6,856 in England
  • #863 of 1,119 in South East
  • #10 of 15 in Ashford
  • Around the England average
Compare this area →

People living here Census 2021

Residents6,208
Median age (est.)51
Density94per km²
No qualifications18%
Degree or above30%
No car or van7%

Age

0–14 16%15–24 9%25–44 17%45–64 31%65+ 27%

Tenure

Own outright: 49%Mortgage/shared: 30%Social rent: 10%Private rent: 11%
Own outright 49%Mortgage/shared 30%Social rent 10%Private rent 11%

Households

One person: 23%Couple, no children: 19%Couple with children: 27%Lone parent: 8%Other: 23%
One person 23%Couple, no children 19%Couple with children 27%Lone parent 8%Other 23%

Work (top occupations)

Managers & directors 23% · Professional 17% · Skilled trades 14%

All occupation groups
Managers & directors23%
Professional17%
Skilled trades14%
Associate professional12%
Administrative9%
Elementary8%
Caring & leisure7%
Process & plant5%
Sales & customer service5%

Ethnic group

White: 97%Asian: 1%Black: 0%Mixed: 1%Other: 0%
White 97%Asian 1%Black 0%Mixed 1%Other 0%

Religion & identity

Christian 55% · No religion 37% · Other 1%

Born outside the UK: 6%

Census 2021 (ONS), Crown copyright, OGL v3.0. Shares are of each question's own respondents (e.g. education is % of residents aged 16+). Figures date from March 2021 and change slowly between censuses.

In summary

Biddenden, Smarden & High Halden is close to the England average for deprivation, ranked #3,988 of 6,856 neighbourhoods nationally, and #10 of 15 in Ashford. It is highly uneven across the seven themes — strong on Health (76) but weak on Housing & access (1). Typical homes here sold for about £512,500 over the past year, down 3% across five years (from 64 sales), 49% above the wider Ashford median of £345,000. Typical household take-home income is around £41,585 a year, around the middle of England. Recorded crime ran at 46 incidents per 1,000 residents over the past year, well below the England rate of 83.

Themed scores ?

Each 0–100, higher = less deprived on that theme. National rank shown.

Income 62 · #2,589
Employment 62 · #2,589
Education 39 · #4,159
Health 76 · #1,636
Crime 67 · #2,240
Housing & access 1 · #6,778
Living environment 20 · #5,468

House prices ?

£512,500median (12m) · +8.4% yr · n=64
TypeMedian (12m)Sales1yr5yr
All homes£512,50064+8.4%-3.3%
Detached£712,50038+8.8%+3.3%
Semi-detached£415,00017+1.8%+7.1%
Terraced£320,0009+14.3%+16.4%
FlatToo few sales to report (n=0)
This area£512,500
Ashford£345,000
South East£385,000
England£300,000
Annual median price, all homes. Small samples can be volatile.

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Household income

Net household income (a year)£41,585±£5,809 · #2,973 of 6,856
After housing costs (equivalised)£38,362
Price-to-income ?12.3×typical home ÷ net income — more stretched than the England figure of 7.5×

Model-based ONS estimates (FYE 2023) with 95% confidence intervals — a guide to the typical household, not a measurement. How income estimates work →

Affordability-adjusted Score ?

18Affordability-adjusted Score / 100
Best-value areas in England →

Recorded crime ?

46 crimes per 1,000 residents · 12 months · 293 offences
Ashford66
South East71
England83

Rank #1,731 of 6,427 areas with published data (1 = lowest recorded rate).

Category (12 months)Recorded
Violence & sexual offences151
Theft36
Burglary19
Vehicle crime20
Criminal damage & arson41
Public order & weapons14
Drugs6
Robbery0
Other6

Anti-social behaviour, recorded separately: 45 incidents.

Recorded incidents, not convictions. Crimes are counted where they happen while residents are counted where they live, so busy town-centre, retail and nightlife areas show high per-resident rates because visitors bring incidents with them. Street-level crime data © Crown copyright, data.police.uk, OGL v3.0. More on crime figures →

Official sources

Nearby areas

The closest neighbourhoods on the map, whichever authority they fall in.

Other areas in Ashford

Similar areas across England

Neighbourhoods with the closest Area Score elsewhere in the country, for comparison.