West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2AS

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. The area surrounding AL5 2AS has a slightly higher male population, with 50.3% of residents being male. Several factors can contribute to this, including areas with industries or sectors that predominantly employ men, proximity to universities or technical schools with a higher enrollment of male students, presence of all-male or predominantly male institutions (military academies, boarding schools).

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	52.1%	49.7%	-2.4%	51.0%	-1.3%
Male	47.9%	50.3%	2.4%	49.0%	1.3%

Partnership Status

Across the UK, the average relationship status breakdown is roughly 44% married, 38% single, 9% divorced, 6% widowed, and 2% separated.

In the immediate vicinity of AL5 2AS there is a very large concentration of residents that are married - 71.1% of the resident population. In contrast, the average marriage rate across the census is about 44%.

Areas with a high percentage of married residents are typically suburban neighborhoods, towns with good schools and family-friendly amenities, and regions with affordable, spacious housing options. Additionally, such areas can be popular among retirees.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Single	16%	19.1%	3.1%	37.9%	-18.8%
Married: Opposite sex	75.1%	71.1%	-4.0%	44.2%	26.9%
Separated	1.1%	1.1%	0.0%	2.2%	-1.1%
Divorced	3%	4.3%	1.3%	9.1%	-4.8%
Widowed	4.8%	4.3%	-0.5%	6.1%	-1.8%

Health

Across the UK, the average 48.4% rated their health as Very Good, 33.6% as Good, 12.7% as Fair, 4% as Bad, and 1.2% as Very Bad.

Population age significantly impacts residents' health. Additionally, socioeconomic status plays a crucial role: higher income levels and lower poverty rates are linked to better health outcomes. Affluent areas benefit from higher living standards, access to private healthcare, and healthier lifestyle choices.

This area has a high percentage of residents reporting their health as Good or Very Good (92.8%) compared to the average (82%). This typically indicates either a younger population or more affluent area.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Very good health	58.2%	65.6%	7.4%	48.4%	17.2%
Good health	31.8%	27.2%	-4.6%	33.6%	-6.4%
Fair health	8.2%	4%	-4.2%	12.7%	-8.7%
Bad health	1.2%	2.9%	1.7%	4.0%	-1.1%
Very bad health	0.6%	0.3%	-0.3%	1.2%	-0.9%

Education and Qualifications

During the 2021 census, the educational qualifications of residents across the UK were as follows: 18.2% had no qualifications, 9.6% had 1-4 GCSEs, 13.4% had 5 or more GCSEs and 1-2 A/AS Levels, 16.9% had 2 or more A Levels, 33.8% held a degree (or equivalent), and 5.4% had completed an apprenticeship.

In the area around AL5 2AS this area, 6.5% of residents have no qualifications. This is significantly lower than the UK average of 18.2%. This area stands out for its high percentage of residents with higher education degree or similar. The UK average is 33.8%, while in this area it is 56.8%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	4.8%	6.5%	1.7%	18.2%	-11.7%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	9.7%	6.5%	-3.2%	9.6%	-3.1%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	14.5%	12.9%	-1.6%	13.4%	-0.5%
Apprenticeship	1.5%	4.7%	3.2%	5.3%	-0.6%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	10.8%	10.1%	-0.7%	16.9%	-6.8%
Degree or Similar	56.1%	56.8%	0.7%	33.8%	23.0%
Other	2.6%	2.5%	-0.1%	2.8%	-0.3%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is predominantly white, with 92.2% identifying as such, significantly higher than the UK average of 81.4%. This indicates a lower level of ethnic diversity compared to the broader UK population.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Chinese	0.3%	1.4%	1.1%	0.7%	0.7%
Indian	0.3%	0.3%	0.0%	3.1%	-2.8%
Pakistani	1.5%	0%	-1.5%	2.7%	-2.7%
Other Asian	1.2%	0%	-1.2%	1.6%	-1.6%
Black Caribbean	0%	0.9%	0.9%	1.0%	-0.1%
Mixed White and Asian	1.8%	1.1%	-0.7%	0.8%	0.3%
Mixed Other	0.9%	1.1%	0.2%	0.8%	0.3%
White	93.8%	92.2%	-1.6%	81.4%	10.8%
Gypsy or Irish Traveller	0%	0.9%	0.9%	0.1%	0.8%
Arab	0.3%	1.1%	0.8%	0.6%	0.5%
Other	0%	0.9%	0.9%	1.6%	-0.7%

Country of Birth

In this area, 87.7% of the population were born in the United Kingdom, which is similar to the UK average of 83.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	90.3%	87.7%	-2.6%	83.2%	4.5%
European Union	2.9%	4.3%	1.4%	6.1%	-1.8%
Africa	1.8%	1.7%	-0.1%	2.7%	-1.0%
Middle East and Asia	2.4%	3.2%	0.8%	5.6%	-2.4%
The Americas and the Caribbean	1.8%	2.6%	0.8%	1.3%	1.3%
Oceania	0.9%	0.6%	-0.3%	0.3%	0.3%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	88.5%	87.4%	-1.1%	83.2%	4.2%
10+ Years	1.2%	10.3%	9.1%	9.8%	0.5%
5-10 Years	0.6%	2.3%	1.7%	2.9%	-0.6%
2-5 Years	1.8%	0%	-1.8%	2.2%	-2.2%
Less than 2 years	7.9%	0%	-7.9%	1.9%	-1.9%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	93.1%	76.7%	16.4%
Ireland	2.3%	0.6%	1.7%
Italy	0.3%	0.6%	-0.3%
Other EU countries	0.3%	1.5%	-1.2%
Eastern Asia	0.9%	0.3%	0.6%
Central and South America	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%
No passport held	2.9%	13.5%	-10.6%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	24.4%	37.2%	-12.8%
Christian	66.1%	46.2%	19.9%
Jewish	1.7%	0.5%	1.2%
Muslim	1.1%	6.5%	-5.4%
Other religion	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%
Not answered	6%	6.0%	0.0%

Safety

Is West Common Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around West Common was 6.1 per 1,000 residents, which is 76.8% lower than the Harpenden South average. The most reported crime type was Burglary.

West Common has the 4th lowest crime rate of 40 local areas in Harpenden South and the 9th lowest crime rate of 430 local areas in St Albans .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 3.0 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been falling year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -21.7%.

🔎 See full breakdown of local crime, hotspots & trends

Affluence

Household Income

Households in this area have a much higher level of wealth compared to the average household in England and Wales. 97% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£72,800

Income Rank
10/10

Household Income in AL5 2AS, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 1/10 (very low )
Indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) is used to classify the relative deprivation (a measure of poverty) of the area. It considers the following domains:
Income Deprivation Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Income Deprivation Domain measures the percentage of people in the population who are experiencing poverty due to having a low income. It includes both those who are unemployed and those who are employed but earn very little (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Employment Deprivation Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Employment Deprivation Domain measures the proportion of the working-age population in an area involuntarily excluded from the labour market. This includes people who would like to work but are unable to do so due to unemployment, sickness or disability, or caring responsibilities.
Education, Skills and Training Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Education, Skills, and Training Deprivation Domain measures the lack of education and skills in a local area. It has two parts: one for children and young people, and one for adults. The part for children and young people looks at their school achievements ('flow'), while the part for adults looks at the number of adults without qualifications ('stock').
Health Deprivation and Disability Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Health Deprivation and Disability Domain measures the risk of early death and poor quality of life due to bad physical or mental health. It looks at illness, disability, and early death, but not at behaviors or environments that might affect future health.
Crime Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Crime Domain measures the risk of people and property being victims of crime in a local area.
Barriers to Housing and Services Domain - 9/10 (very high )
The Barriers to Housing and Services Domain measures how easy or hard it is to access housing and local services. It has two parts: one looks at how close local services are, and the other looks at issues like how affordable housing is.
Living Environment Deprivation Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Living Environment Deprivation Domain measures the quality of the local environment. It has two parts: the "indoors" part looks at housing quality, and the "outdoors" part looks at air quality and road traffic accidents.
Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) - 1/10 (very low )
The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) measures how many children aged 0 to 15 live in low-income families. It is part of the Income Deprivation Domain, which looks at how many people in an area have low incomes. This includes both those who are unemployed and those who work but earn very little (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) - 1/10 (very low )
The Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) measures the percentage of people aged 60 or older who have low income. It is part of the Income Deprivation Domain, which looks at how many people in an area have low income, including both unemployed people and those with low-paying jobs (and who satisfy the respective means tests).

Property Prices

Average property prices on West Common are based on 132 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for St Albans.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2AS

Estimated Average Property Prices for AL5 2AS

Average Price
£1,157,302

Semi-Detached
£1,029,422

Terraced
no sales

Detached
£1,477,000

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for West Common

Average Price
£1,223,597

Semi-Detached
£1,039,091

Terraced
£701,793

Detached
£2,734,705

Flats/Maisonettes
£809,577

Other
£3,265,443

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on West CommonStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
6 Maple Cottages West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£870,000	2021-06-28	£991,395
9 Maple Cottages West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire Detached, an established residential building	£1,325,000	2017-04-05	£1,558,285
5 Maple Cottages West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£638,000	2015-10-09	£828,917
9 Maple Cottages West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire Other, an established residential building	£1,257,000	2014-08-08	£1,648,579
8 Maple Cottages West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£505,000	2009-10-28	£1,037,216

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for AL5 2AS

Employment

AL5 2AS area has a very high level of entrepreneurship. Only 2% of streets have higher percent of entrepreneur residents. 20% of population in this area is self-employed, while the average in the UK is 9.7%. High number of entrepreneurs usually leads to relatively high economic growth, higher paid jobs and better quality of life in the area.

AL5 2AS area has a low unemployment rate. According to Census 2021, 2% residents of this area were unemployed, while the average in the UK was 4.83%. A low level of unemployment in an area indicates a strong job market, where most people who are seeking work can find employment. This generally reflects a healthy economy in the area.

Economic Activity

Retired	73
Full-Time Employee	68
Self-Employed	56
Part-Time Employee	31
Student (economically inactive)	21
Looking after home or family	18
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	5
Unemployed	5
Other	0
Long-Term Sick or disabled	0

Employment Industry

Professional, scientific and technical activities	33
Financial and insurance activities	18
Education	17
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	15
Human health and social work activities	13
Information and communication	9
Other	6
Construction	6
Administrative and support service activities	4
Manufacturing	3
Real estate activities	2
Transport and storage	2
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	2
Accommodation and food service activities	1
Mining and quarrying	1

Schools

Nursery

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Batford Nursery School Holcroft Road , AL5 5BQ	4out of 4	3,783 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Muriel Green Nursery School Church Crescent , AL3 5JB	3out of 4	5,144 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
St Dominic Catholic Primary School St Dominic Catholic Primary School , Southdown Road AL5 1PF	4out of 4	1,809 yd	Voluntary aided school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
The Grove Junior School Dark Lane , AL5 1QB	3out of 4	1,819 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
The Grove Infant and Nursery School Dark Lane , AL5 1QD	4out of 4	1,839 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Harpenden Academy 25 Vaughan Road , AL5 4EL	3out of 4	2,287 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
High Beeches Primary School Aldwickbury Crescent , AL5 5SD	4out of 4	2,364 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Townsend VA Church of England High Oaks , AL3 6DR	3out of 4	2,913 yd	Voluntary aided school	No	Mixed	More About School
St George's School Sun Lane , AL5 4TD	4out of 4	3,078 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Roundwood Park School Roundwood Park , AL5 3AE	4out of 4	3,146 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Sir John Lawes School Manland Way , AL5 4QP	4out of 4	3,167 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
St Albans Girls' School Sandridgebury Lane , AL3 6DB	4out of 4	3,635 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Girls	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Aldwickbury School Aldwickbury School , Wheathampstead Road AL5 1AD	- not rated	2,453 yd	Other independent school	No	Boys	More About School
St Hilda's School 28 Douglas Road , AL5 2ES	- not rated	2,857 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Girls	More About School
St Luke's School Crouch Hall Lane , Redbourn AL3 7ET	2out of 4	3,891 yd	Foundation special school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Batchwood School Townsend Drive , AL3 5RP	2out of 4	3,967 yd	Community special school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
The King's School Elmfield , Ambrose Lane AL5 4DU	- not rated	4,006 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

School statistics for this postcode are based on Ofsted rankings.

Food and Drink

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Harpenden Common Golf Club	Cravells Road, East Common		650 yd
The White Horse	Public House, Hatching Green		981 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Bamville Cricket Club BAMVILLE CRICKET CLUB BAMVILLE CRICKET CLUB EAST COMMON	grass pitches	574 yd
Harpenden Common Golf Club EAST COMMON	golf	649 yd
The Acre (Harpenden Rovers Fc) EAST COMMON	grass pitches	906 yd

Broadband

Technology Aviability

Percentage of premises that have Superfast Broadband (30Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	100.0%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (100Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	0.0%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (300Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	0.0%
Percentage of premises that have coverage from a Gigabit capable service from fixed broadband	0.0%

Speed Aviability

Percentage of premises unable to receive 2Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 5Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 10Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 30Mbit/s	0.0%

Download Speed

Median download speed	35.4 Mbit/s
Average download speed	34.7 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	46.52 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	46.52 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	8 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	8.3 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	10 Mbit/s

Broadband statistics are based on Ofcom's Communications Market Report (CMR) 2022.

Overview of AL5 2AS