Central Avenue, Shortstown, Bedford, MK42 0UP

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. However, the area surrounding MK42 0UP has a female population much higher than UK average, with 56.8% of the population being female. Several factors can contribute to this. Women generally live longer than men, resulting in a higher proportion of women in neighborhoods with significant elderly populations. Typically, as people grow older, they tend to relocate from city center addresses to suburban areas, smaller towns, and rural locations. Consequently, these areas often have a higher number of females. A higher female population can also be found in areas with industries that employ more women, such as healthcare, education, and retail.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	55.5%	56.8%	1.3%	51.0%	5.8%
Male	44.5%	43.2%	-1.3%	49.0%	-5.8%

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 MK42 0UP, a significant portion of the population is single, making up 46.8% 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	40.4%	46.8%	6.4%	37.9%	8.9%
Married: Opposite sex	38.5%	33.3%	-5.2%	44.2%	-10.9%
Separated	3.2%	2.9%	-0.3%	2.2%	0.7%
Divorced	13.5%	13.5%	0.0%	9.1%	4.4%
Widowed	4.5%	3.5%	-1.0%	6.1%	-2.6%

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	41.6%	46.8%	5.2%	48.4%	-1.6%
Good health	37.3%	34.5%	-2.8%	33.6%	0.9%
Fair health	16.3%	13.2%	-3.1%	12.7%	0.5%
Bad health	3.3%	3.4%	0.1%	4.0%	-0.6%
Very bad health	1.4%	2.1%	0.7%	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.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	20.5%	15.2%	-5.3%	18.2%	-3.0%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	17.9%	13.5%	-4.4%	9.6%	3.9%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	23.1%	22.8%	-0.3%	13.4%	9.4%
Apprenticeship	1.9%	2.9%	1.0%	5.3%	-2.4%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	8.3%	14.6%	6.3%	16.9%	-2.3%
Degree or Similar	18.6%	26.9%	8.3%	33.8%	-6.9%
Other	9.6%	4.1%	-5.5%	2.8%	1.3%

Culture

Ethnic Group

This area closely mirrors the overall ethnic composition of the UK, with 80.7% of the population identifying as white, with UK average of 81.4%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Bangladeshi	0.5%	1.3%	0.8%	1.1%	0.2%
Indian	1.9%	1.7%	-0.2%	3.1%	-1.4%
Pakistani	0%	6.4%	6.4%	2.7%	3.7%
Black African	1.4%	2.6%	1.2%	2.5%	0.1%
Black Caribbean	0.5%	0.9%	0.4%	1.0%	-0.1%
Other Black	1%	0.9%	-0.1%	0.5%	0.4%
Mixed White and Asian	2.4%	0%	-2.4%	0.8%	-0.8%
Mixed White and African	1%	0%	-1.0%	0.4%	-0.4%
Mixed White and Caribbean	3.8%	2.6%	-1.2%	0.9%	1.7%
Mixed Other	1%	3%	2.0%	0.8%	2.2%
White	86.6%	80.7%	-5.9%	81.4%	-0.7%

Country of Birth

In this area, 84.2% 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	85.6%	84.2%	-1.4%	83.2%	1.0%
European Union	9.1%	8.1%	-1.0%	6.1%	2.0%
Rest of Europe	0.5%	0%	-0.5%	0.8%	-0.8%
Africa	2.9%	2.6%	-0.3%	2.7%	-0.1%
Middle East and Asia	1.9%	3.8%	1.9%	5.6%	-1.8%
The Americas and the Caribbean	0%	0.9%	0.9%	1.3%	-0.4%
Oceania	0%	0.4%	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	85.2%	84.2%	-1.0%	83.2%	1.0%
10+ Years	1.4%	10.7%	9.3%	9.8%	0.9%
5-10 Years	1.9%	3.8%	1.9%	2.9%	0.9%
2-5 Years	6.7%	1.3%	-5.4%	2.2%	-0.9%
Less than 2 years	4.8%	0%	-4.8%	1.9%	-1.9%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	62.1%	76.7%	-14.6%
Ireland	0.9%	0.6%	0.3%
Italy	0.4%	0.6%	-0.2%
Lithuania	0.9%	0.3%	0.6%
Poland	6.8%	1.3%	5.5%
South and Eastern Africa	0.9%	0.2%	0.7%
Southern Asia	1.3%	1.2%	0.1%
Oceania	0.4%	0.1%	0.3%
No passport held	26.4%	13.5%	12.9%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	53.6%	37.2%	16.4%
Christian	33.2%	46.2%	-13.0%
Muslim	6.4%	6.5%	-0.1%
Not answered	6.8%	6.0%	0.8%

Safety

Is Central Avenue Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Central Avenue was 83.0 per 1,000 residents, which is 1.1% lower than the Shortstown average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Central Avenue has the 8th highest crime rate of 28 local areas in Shortstown and the 173rd highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 65.5 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -45.5%.

🔎 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 0UP, 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 0UP

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK42 0UP

Average Price
£285,545

Semi-Detached
£325,578

Terraced
£265,528

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Central Avenue

Average Price
£190,782

Semi-Detached
£326,493

Terraced
£213,516

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
£130,275

Other
no sales

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Central AvenueStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
1 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£270,000	2025-05-29	£285,390
4 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£255,000	2023-02-14	£271,709
4 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£216,000	2019-08-21	£278,429
1 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£225,000	2018-11-30	£285,162
4 Central Avenue, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£140,000	2015-01-09	£234,146

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK42 0UP

Employment

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	67
Retired	21
Part-Time Employee	18
Other	12
Unemployed	12
Looking after home or family	11
Long-Term Sick or disabled	11
Student (economically inactive)	7
Self-Employed	7
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	4

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	30
Human health and social work activities	15
Transport and storage	10
Education	9
Construction	8
Manufacturing	7
Accommodation and food service activities	6
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	5
Other	3
Information and communication	3
Administrative and support service activities	2
Professional, scientific and technical activities	2
Real estate activities	1
Financial and insurance activities	1
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	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	2,610 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	4out of 4	3,383 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	3out of 4	343 yd	Academy converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
King's Oak Primary School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	2out of 4	1,783 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Elstow School Abbeyfields Road Abbeyfields , Elstow MK42 9GP	3out of 4	2,141 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Cotton End Forest School High Road , MK45 3AG	3out of 4	2,287 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Shackleton Primary School Pearcey Road , MK42 9LZ	3out of 4	2,533 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	1,577 yd	Academy sponsor led	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Free School Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AD	3out of 4	3,469 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	3out of 4	3,712 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Wixams Academy Green Lane , Wixams MK42 6BA	- not rated	3,803 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Goldington Academy Haylands Way , MK41 9BX	3out of 4	4,078 yd	Academy converter	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	3,604 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	2,986 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
E-Spired Centre of Excellence The Raleigh Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	3,202 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Girls' School Cardington Road , MK42 0BX	- not rated	3,218 yd	Other independent school	No	Girls	More About School
St John's School Austin Canons , Bedford Road MK42 8AA	4out of 4	3,971 yd	Academy special converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Bedford School De Parys Avenue , MK40 2TU	- not rated	4,218 yd	Other independent school	No	Boys	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		943 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Shortstown Food Bar	Unit 2A, Beauvais Square		320 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Greycote - Shortstown Village Hall Playing Fields SHORTSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE SHORTSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE SOUTHCOTE	grass pitches	433 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	330.7 Mbit/s
Average download speed	320.2 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	600 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	600 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	32.5 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	30 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	40 Mbit/s

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