Neighbourhood · Medway · South East
Rochester South West
Medway 024 · 4 sub-areas · 7,107 residents
Verdict
How are these scored? →Best for Families (66/100)Watch-out: Solo renters (56/100)Liveability 40/100 · Below medianCommuter neighbourhood
Rochester South West is a commuter neighbourhood within Medway — train into London runs in around 53 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it.
Liveability
40/100
Below median
Overview
Overview
What's it like to live in Rochester South West?
A snapshot of Rochester South West
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,241 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Rochester South West in Medway
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FAQ
Frequently asked
- What's the median rent in Rochester South West?
- The median monthly rent across Rochester South West is £1,241.
- How safe is Rochester South West?
- Rochester South West has a safety score of — out of 100, where higher is safer. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, inverted.
- How well-connected is Rochester South West?
- Transport score: — out of 100. Combines walking time to the nearest rail station, walking time to the nearest metro stop, and public-transport time to clusters with 5,000+ jobs. The nearest rail station is roughly 23 minutes' walk.
- What schools are near Rochester South West?
- There are 15 schools within 2 km of Rochester South West, of which 34% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 522 m away.
- What is the council tax band in Rochester South West?
- The most common council tax band in Rochester South West is C, with the typical Band D annual charge around £2,015. Council tax is set by Medway council and applies to every property in the area.
- How long is the commute from Rochester South West to London?
- By the fastest direct train, the journey from Rochester South West to central London is approximately 53 minutes. This is the fastest no-change rail journey from the local area centroid; door-to-door times will vary with walking time to the station.
- Is gigabit broadband available in Rochester South West?
- 100% of premises in Rochester South West are gigabit-capable according to Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Most properties can already buy gigabit packages.
- What is the deprivation rank of Rochester South West?
- Rochester South West sits in IMD decile 5 of 10, where 1 is the most deprived 10% of local areas nationally and 10 is the least deprived. The Index of Multiple Deprivation combines income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers and environment.
- What's the tenure mix in Rochester South West?
- 66% of households in Rochester South West are owner-occupied. The remainder is split between private renting and social housing — see the Demographics section for the full breakdown from Census 2021.
- What is the average property price in Rochester South West?
- The average property price across Medway (the local authority covering Rochester South West) is approximately £298,252, per HM Land Registry's House Price Index. Per-local area prices vary; see the cost-of-living section for medians by property type.
- Is Rochester South West a commuter town or workplace hub?
- Commuter town — most working residents travel out for work. (0.35 jobs per working-age resident. Median resident salary £33,857.)
- Which local areas are part of Rochester South West?
- Rochester South West contains 4 local areas: Medway 024C, Medway 024A, Medway 024D, Medway 024B.
FAQ
Frequently asked about Rochester South West
Short answers anchored in the data above. Each link goes to the relevant section or methodology page.
- What is the average rent in Rochester South West?
- The estimated median monthly rent in Rochester South West is £1,241. This is derived from the council-area ONS rental figure scaled by the local sale-price gradient — see the Cost section for the breakdown by bedroom count and the affordability ratio against local salaries.
- Is Rochester South West a safe place to live?
- Rochester South West has a safety score of 68/100. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crime per 1,000 residents, inverted so 100 is the safest 1% of England + Wales. The Safety section below shows the breakdown by category.
- What schools are near Rochester South West?
- 34% of schools within 2 km of Rochester South West are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The Schools section lists individual schools with inspection ratings.
- How long is the commute from Rochester South West?
- Public-transport commute time from Rochester South West to central London is approximately 53 minutes. The Transport section has commute times to every major UK city hub.
- How is Rochester South West different from the rest of Medway?
- Rochester South West contains 4 sub-areas. The "Sub-areas" section below lets you drill into each one individually — they often vary by 20%+ on rent and demographics within the same neighbourhood.
- Where does Rochester South West rank in Medway?
- Rochester South West scores 40/100 on our composite liveability index. To see how it stacks up against every other neighbourhood in Medway, see the Cities table on the Medway page.
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