Central Avenue, Shortstown, Bedford, MK42 0TS

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. The local area around MK42 0TS is generally consistent with those figures, having a male population of 49.5%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	52.5%	50.5%	-2.0%	51.0%	-0.5%
Male	47.5%	49.5%	2.0%	49.0%	0.5%

Partnership Status

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

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Single	37.9%	41.9%	4.0%	37.9%	4.0%
Married: Opposite sex	46.7%	41.5%	-5.2%	44.2%	-2.7%
Married: Same sex	0%	1.2%	1.2%	0.3%	0.9%
Separated	2.3%	2.9%	0.6%	2.2%	0.7%
Divorced	11.7%	10%	-1.7%	9.1%	0.9%
Widowed	1.4%	2.5%	1.1%	6.1%	-3.6%

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.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Very good health	42.3%	41.1%	-1.2%	48.4%	-7.3%
Good health	44%	39.1%	-4.9%	33.6%	5.5%
Fair health	10.6%	13%	2.4%	12.7%	0.3%
Bad health	2.5%	5%	2.5%	4.0%	1.0%
Very bad health	0.7%	1.7%	1.0%	1.2%	0.5%

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.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	14%	13.4%	-0.6%	18.2%	-4.8%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	20.6%	14.6%	-6.0%	9.6%	5.0%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	13.6%	17.6%	4.0%	13.4%	4.2%
Apprenticeship	4.7%	5.9%	1.2%	5.3%	0.6%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	20.1%	18.4%	-1.7%	16.9%	1.5%
Degree or Similar	22.4%	25.9%	3.5%	33.8%	-7.9%
Other	4.7%	4.2%	-0.5%	2.8%	1.4%

Culture

Ethnic Group

This area closely mirrors the overall ethnic composition of the UK, with 82.6% of the population identifying as white, with UK average of 81.4%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Chinese	0.7%	0%	-0.7%	0.7%	-0.7%
Indian	2.5%	3%	0.5%	3.1%	-0.1%
Pakistani	0%	1.3%	1.3%	2.7%	-1.4%
Other Asian	0.4%	0.3%	-0.1%	1.6%	-1.3%
Black African	0%	0.7%	0.7%	2.5%	-1.8%
Black Caribbean	2.1%	1.3%	-0.8%	1.0%	0.3%
Other Black	0%	0.3%	0.3%	0.5%	-0.2%
Mixed White and Asian	0.7%	0.7%	0.0%	0.8%	-0.1%
Mixed White and African	0%	1%	1.0%	0.4%	0.6%
Mixed White and Caribbean	1.8%	5.4%	3.6%	0.9%	4.5%
Mixed Other	0.4%	3%	2.6%	0.8%	2.2%
White	89.4%	82.6%	-6.8%	81.4%	1.2%
Other	2.1%	0.3%	-1.8%	1.6%	-1.3%

Country of Birth

In this area, 83.4% 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	90.1%	83.4%	-6.7%	83.2%	0.2%
European Union	5.6%	10.3%	4.7%	6.1%	4.2%
Rest of Europe	0%	1.3%	1.3%	0.8%	0.5%
Africa	0.4%	2%	1.6%	2.7%	-0.7%
Middle East and Asia	2.5%	1.3%	-1.2%	5.6%	-4.3%
The Americas and the Caribbean	1.4%	1.7%	0.3%	1.3%	0.4%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	88.7%	83.4%	-5.3%	83.2%	0.2%
10+ Years	0%	10%	10.0%	9.8%	0.2%
5-10 Years	1.4%	3%	1.6%	2.9%	0.1%
2-5 Years	3.9%	2%	-1.9%	2.2%	-0.2%
Less than 2 years	6%	1.7%	-4.3%	1.9%	-0.2%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	71.6%	76.7%	-5.1%
Ireland	1%	0.6%	0.4%
Italy	1.3%	0.6%	0.7%
Portugal	0.3%	0.5%	-0.2%
Lithuania	1.7%	0.3%	1.4%
Poland	2%	1.3%	0.7%
Romania	0.3%	0.9%	-0.6%
Other EU countries	1%	1.5%	-0.5%
Other Europe	1%	0.2%	0.8%
South and Eastern Africa	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%
South-East Asia	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%
North America and the Caribbean	0.3%	0.3%	0.0%
No passport held	18.8%	13.5%	5.3%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	36.5%	37.2%	-0.7%
Christian	50.2%	46.2%	4.0%
Buddhist	0.3%	0.5%	-0.2%
Hindu	1.7%	1.7%	0.0%
Muslim	3.7%	6.5%	-2.8%
Other religion	0.3%	0.6%	-0.3%
Not answered	7.3%	6.0%	1.3%

Safety

Is Central Avenue Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Central Avenue was 117.1 per 1,000 residents, which is 35.5% higher than the Shortstown average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Central Avenue has the 5th highest crime rate of 28 local areas in Shortstown and the 118th highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 60.2 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -83.2%.

🔎 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. 80% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£55,000

Income Rank
8/10

Household Income in MK42 0TS, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 6/10 (average )
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 - 7/10 (above 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 - 7/10 (above average )
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 - 8/10 (high )
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 - 6/10 (average )
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 - 4/10 (below 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 - 3/10 (low )
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 - 6/10 (average )
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) - 7/10 (above 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) - 4/10 (below average )
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 Central Avenue are based on 17 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 Central Avenue, Shortstown, Bedford, MK42 0TS

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK42 0TS

Average Price
£204,659

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
£204,659

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Central Avenue

Average Price
£188,819

Semi-Detached
£321,882

Terraced
£212,102

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
£127,839

Other
no sales

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Central AvenueStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
16 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£175,000	2021-09-27	£202,278
18 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£107,000	2013-12-12	£194,933
16 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£97,000	2013-07-05	£182,395
20 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£107,000	2012-10-29	£204,856
9 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire Terraced, an established residential building	£125,000	2006-08-16	£243,299

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK42 0TS

Employment

MK42 0TS area has a low unemployment rate. According to Census 2021, 3% 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

Full-Time Employee	106
Retired	31
Part-Time Employee	30
Self-Employed	28
Looking after home or family	13
Long-Term Sick or disabled	11
Unemployed	8
Other	5
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	5
Student (economically inactive)	5

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	30
Education	20
Construction	17
Manufacturing	15
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	14
Human health and social work activities	13
Information and communication	12
Transport and storage	9
Professional, scientific and technical activities	7
Administrative and support service activities	7
Accommodation and food service activities	7
Other	5
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1
Real estate activities	1
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	1

Schools

Nursery

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Cherry Trees Nursery School Hawkins Road , MK42 9LS	4out of 4	2,737 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Southway Nursery School Ampthill Road , MK42 9HE	- not rated	3,278 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	4out of 4	3,505 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Shortstown Primary School Beauvais Square , Shortstown MK42 0GS	- not rated	306 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Shortstown Primary School Beauvais Square , Shortstown MK42 0GS	3out of 4	306 yd	Academy converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
King's Oak Primary School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	3out of 4	1,917 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Cotton End Forest School High Road , MK45 3AG	- not rated	2,152 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Elstow School Abbey Fields , Elstow MK42 9GP	3out of 4	2,224 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Bedford Academy Mile Road , MK42 9TR	3out of 4	1,702 yd	Academy sponsor led	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
John Bunyan School Mile Road , MK42 9TR	- not rated	1,748 yd	Community school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Free School Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AD	4out of 4	3,602 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Wixams Academy Green Lane , Wixams MK42 6BA	2out of 4	3,765 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	- not rated	3,795 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School

Middle deemed secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Kingsbrook Middle School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	- not rated	1,976 yd	Community school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Harrowden Middle School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	- not rated	1,976 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Abbey Middle School Mowbray Road , MK42 9XA	- not rated	2,154 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Silver Jubilee Middle School Acacia Road , MK42 0HU	- not rated	2,304 yd	Community school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Middle School Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	- not rated	3,795 yd	Foundation school	No	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	3,737 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
KWS School 51 Brunel Road , Bedford MK41 9TJ	- not rated	3,102 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
Raleigh Education Centre Raleigh and Southway Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	3,278 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
E-Spired Centre of Excellence The Raleigh Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	3,331 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Girls' School Cardington Road , MK42 0BX	- not rated	3,352 yd	Other independent school	No	Girls	More About School
Teaching Service for Excluded Pupils 2nd Floor, Riverside Suite , County Hall MK42 9AP	- not rated	3,807 yd	Miscellaneous	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

School statistics for this postcode are based on Ofsted rankings.

Food and Drink

Restaurants, Cafes, Canteens

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Shake Rattle N roll	Hanger 2, Cardington Airfield		973 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Shortstown Food Bar	Unit 2A, Beauvais Square		382 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Greycote - Shortstown Village Hall Playing Fields SHORTSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE SHORTSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE SOUTHCOTE	grass pitches	393 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	100.0%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (300Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	100.0%
Percentage of premises that have coverage from a Gigabit capable service from fixed broadband	100.0%

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	200 Mbit/s
Average download speed	246 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	500 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	500 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	20 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	24 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	35 Mbit/s

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