Mercia Road, Great Denham, Bedford, MK40 4GR

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. The local area around MK40 4GR is generally consistent with those figures, having a male population of 48.8%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	50.2%	51.2%	1.0%	51.0%	0.2%
Male	49.8%	48.8%	-1.0%	49.0%	-0.2%

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 area around MK40 4GR, a significant portion of the population is single, making up 48.7% of the residents. On average, approximately 38% of individuals who responded to the census in the UK were single. Areas with higher single populations are typically urban centers, university towns, regions with dynamic job markets, rich cultural offerings and entertainment facilities. These regions also tend to have a younger demographic.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Single	37.3%	48.7%	11.4%	37.9%	10.8%
Married: Opposite sex	49.1%	34.1%	-15.0%	44.2%	-10.1%
Married: Same sex	0%	0.7%	0.7%	0.3%	0.4%
Separated	5.9%	2.9%	-3.0%	2.2%	0.7%
Divorced	7.3%	12.5%	5.2%	9.1%	3.4%
Widowed	0.5%	1.1%	0.6%	6.1%	-5.0%

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 (89.8%) 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	62.8%	57.2%	-5.6%	48.4%	8.8%
Good health	29.8%	32.6%	2.8%	33.6%	-1.0%
Fair health	4.9%	8.6%	3.7%	12.7%	-4.1%
Bad health	2.2%	1.6%	-0.6%	4.0%	-2.4%
Very bad health	0.3%	0%	-0.3%	1.2%	-1.2%

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.

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 44.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	7.3%	11.3%	4.0%	18.2%	-6.9%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	13.2%	8.4%	-4.8%	9.6%	-1.2%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	16.4%	13.5%	-2.9%	13.4%	0.1%
Apprenticeship	3.6%	1.8%	-1.8%	5.3%	-3.5%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	16.8%	19.3%	2.5%	16.9%	2.4%
Degree or Similar	38.2%	44.2%	6.0%	33.8%	10.4%
Other	4.5%	1.5%	-3.0%	2.8%	-1.3%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is more ethnically diverse compared to the UK average. While 66.5% of the residents identify as white, which is lower than the UK average of 81.4%, there are significant representations of other ethnic groups.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Bangladeshi	0%	5.1%	5.1%	1.1%	4.0%
Chinese	2.8%	1.6%	-1.2%	0.7%	0.9%
Indian	3.7%	5.9%	2.2%	3.1%	2.8%
Pakistani	0.3%	0.8%	0.5%	2.7%	-1.9%
Other Asian	4.9%	0.5%	-4.4%	1.6%	-1.1%
Black African	3.4%	5.9%	2.5%	2.5%	3.4%
Black Caribbean	0.6%	0.8%	0.2%	1.0%	-0.2%
Other Black	0.3%	1.1%	0.8%	0.5%	0.6%
Mixed White and Asian	0.6%	2.1%	1.5%	0.8%	1.3%
Mixed White and African	0.6%	1.1%	0.5%	0.4%	0.7%
Mixed White and Caribbean	2.8%	3.7%	0.9%	0.9%	2.8%
Mixed Other	0.3%	0.5%	0.2%	0.8%	-0.3%
White	79.4%	66.5%	-12.9%	81.4%	-14.9%
Arab	0%	0.3%	0.3%	0.6%	-0.3%
Other	0.3%	4.3%	4.0%	1.6%	2.7%

Country of Birth

In this area, 80.8% 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	84.9%	80.8%	-4.1%	83.2%	-2.4%
European Union	4.3%	5.3%	1.0%	6.1%	-0.8%
Rest of Europe	0.6%	1.3%	0.7%	0.8%	0.5%
Africa	2.8%	5.3%	2.5%	2.7%	2.6%
Middle East and Asia	7.1%	7.2%	0.1%	5.6%	1.6%
The Americas and the Caribbean	0.3%	0%	-0.3%	1.3%	-1.3%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	84.3%	80.4%	-3.9%	83.2%	-2.8%
10+ Years	1.5%	14.1%	12.6%	9.8%	4.3%
5-10 Years	4%	2.7%	-1.3%	2.9%	-0.2%
2-5 Years	5.2%	1.1%	-4.1%	2.2%	-1.1%
Less than 2 years	4.9%	1.9%	-3.0%	1.9%	0.0%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	83.7%	76.7%	7.0%
Ireland	0.5%	0.6%	-0.1%
Italy	0.8%	0.6%	0.2%
Spain	0.3%	0.4%	-0.1%
Lithuania	0.8%	0.3%	0.5%
Poland	2.1%	1.3%	0.8%
Romania	0.5%	0.9%	-0.4%
Other EU countries	0.5%	1.5%	-1.0%
Other Europe	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%
Central and Western Africa	1.3%	0.3%	1.0%
South and Eastern Africa	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%
Eastern Asia	0.5%	0.3%	0.2%
Southern Asia	0.5%	1.2%	-0.7%
Central and South America	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%
No passport held	6.9%	13.5%	-6.6%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	44.5%	37.2%	7.3%
Christian	32%	46.2%	-14.2%
Hindu	3.2%	1.7%	1.5%
Muslim	13.1%	6.5%	6.6%
Sikh	2.1%	0.9%	1.2%
Other religion	0.8%	0.6%	0.2%
Not answered	4.3%	6.0%	-1.7%

Safety

Is Mercia Road dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Mercia Road was 57.5 per 1,000 residents, which is 13.7% lower than the Biddenham average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Mercia Road has the 14th highest crime rate of 38 local areas in Biddenham and the 270th highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 26.8 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -66.1%.

🔎 See full breakdown of local crime, hotspots & trends

Affluence

Household Income

Households in this area have a higher level of wealth to the average household in England and Wales. 90% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£60,900

Income Rank
9/10

Household Income in MK40 4GR, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 3/10 (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 - 5/10 (average )
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 - 2/10 (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 - 3/10 (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 - 5/10 (average )
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 - 2/10 (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) - 6/10 (average )
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 Mercia Road are based on 30 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for Bedford.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for Mercia Road, Great Denham, Bedford, MK40 4GR

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK40 4GR

Average Price
£233,053

Semi-Detached
£352,118

Terraced
£117,437

Detached
£502,152

Flats/Maisonettes
£194,057

Other
£155,485

Estimated Average Property Prices for Mercia Road

Average Price
£304,849

Semi-Detached
£429,158

Terraced
£322,007

Detached
£441,252

Flats/Maisonettes
£206,716

Other
£157,540

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Mercia Road

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
26 Mercia Road, Bedford, Bedford Detached, a newly built property	£499,995	2025-06-27	£506,885
2 Mercia Road, Bedford, Bedford Flats/Maisonettes, an established residential building	£170,000	2023-10-31	£168,810
12 Mercia Road, Bedford, Bedford Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£290,000	2020-04-24	£366,775
22 Mercia Road, Bedford, Bedford Flats/Maisonettes, an established residential building	£140,000	2019-12-30	£156,907
Garage 22 Mercia Road, Bedford, Bedford Other, an established residential building	£140,000	2019-12-03	£156,907

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK40 4GR

Employment

The percentage of student residents living in MK40 4GR area is much higher than the country's average. Usually places with high percentage of students are near Universities and near entertainment places.

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	137
Part-Time Employee	33
Self-Employed	24
Looking after home or family	16
Student (economically inactive)	14
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	13
Unemployed	12
Retired	12
Other	7
Long-Term Sick or disabled	6

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	35
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	20
Education	16
Manufacturing	16
Professional, scientific and technical activities	16
Human health and social work activities	14
Information and communication	10
Transport and storage	8
Construction	7
Other	5
Administrative and support service activities	5
Financial and insurance activities	5
Real estate activities	3
Accommodation and food service activities	1
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	1
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	1
Mining and quarrying	1

Schools

Nursery

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	4out of 4	2,828 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Southway Nursery School Ampthill Road , MK42 9HE	- not rated	3,225 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Cherry Trees Nursery School Hawkins Road , MK42 9LS	4out of 4	3,631 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Great Denham Primary School Greenkeepers Road , Great Denham MK40 4GG	4out of 4	417 yd	Foundation school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
St James' Church of England VA Primary School Main Road , Biddenham MK40 4BD	- not rated	1,120 yd	Voluntary aided school	No	Mixed	More About School
St James' CofE Academy Main Road , Biddenham MK40 4BD	3out of 4	1,120 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Westfield Primary School Chester Road , MK40 4HW	3out of 4	1,535 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
St Joseph's RC Lower School Chester Road , MK40 4HN	- not rated	1,636 yd	Academy converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Biddenham International School and Sports College Biddenham Turn , MK40 4AZ	3out of 4	1,408 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School
Kempston Academy Hill Rise , Kempston MK42 7EB	3out of 4	2,356 yd	Academy sponsor led	No	Mixed	More About School
Hastingsbury Business & Enterprise College Hill Rise , Kempston MK42 7EB	- not rated	2,356 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	- not rated	2,707 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Free School Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AD	4out of 4	3,349 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School

Middle deemed secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Robert Bruce Middle School Bedford Road , Kempston MK42 8PU	- not rated	1,490 yd	Academy sponsor led	No	Mixed	More About School
Robert Bruce Middle School Bedford Road , Kempston MK42 8PU	- not rated	1,490 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School
St Gregory's Catholic Middle School Biddenham Turn , MK40 4AT	- not rated	1,771 yd	Voluntary aided school	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Middle School Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	- not rated	2,707 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School
St Bede's RC Middle School 112 Bromham Road , MK40 2QR	- not rated	2,781 yd	Voluntary aided school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

16 plus

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Bedford College Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AH	- not rated	3,276 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Rivertree Free School Hillgrounds Road , Kempston MK42 8QP	- not rated	1,414 yd	Free schools special	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Greys House Residential School Manor Drive , Kempston MK42 7AB	- not rated	1,554 yd	Miscellaneous	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Greys House Manor Drive , Kempston MK42 7AB	- not rated	1,554 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
The Student Support Centre Greys House , Manor Drive MK42 7AB	- not rated	1,554 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
The Manor Education Centre Greys House , Manor Drive MK42 7AB	- not rated	1,554 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Girls	More About School

School statistics for this postcode are based on Ofsted rankings.

Food and Drink

Restaurants, Cafes, Canteens

Business Name	Address	Distance
The Eatery	Unit A, Roman Gate	185 yd
The Cable Cafe	Box End Park, Box End Road	1,090 yd
Corner 5 Restaurant	Box End Park, Box End Road	1,090 yd

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
AFC Kempston Rovers Football Club	Kempston Rovers Football Club, Hillgrounds Road		957 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Mo's Fish & Grill	Unit 4, Anglia Way		199 yd
The Ice Bar Trailer	23 Midsummer Grove		447 yd

Supermarkets, Hypermarkets

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Sainsbury's	Unit 1, Anglia Way		206 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
The Bedford Golf Club CARNOUSTIE DRIVE	golf	747 yd
Great Denham Country Park GREAT DENHAM SPORTS PAVILION GREAT DENHAM SPORTS PAVILION QUEEN ELEANOR DRIVE	grass pitches	765 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	66.7%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (300Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	66.7%
Percentage of premises that have coverage from a Gigabit capable service from fixed broadband	66.7%

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	73.5 Mbit/s
Average download speed	68.4 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	80 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	80 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	20 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	17 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	20 Mbit/s

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