Abbey Fields, Elstow, Bedford, MK42 9GP

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. However, the area surrounding MK42 9GP, has a female population slightly higher than UK average, with 53.6% of residents 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	52.9%	53.6%	0.7%	51.0%	2.6%
Male	47.1%	46.4%	-0.7%	49.0%	-2.6%

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 9GP, a significant portion of the population is single, making up 49.4% 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	45.9%	49.4%	3.5%	37.9%	11.5%
Married: Opposite sex	38.8%	34.2%	-4.6%	44.2%	-10.0%
Married: Same sex	0%	1%	1.0%	0.3%	0.7%
Civil partnership: Opposite sex	0%	0.6%	0.6%	0.1%	0.5%
Separated	3.7%	2.6%	-1.1%	2.2%	0.4%
Divorced	10.2%	9%	-1.2%	9.1%	-0.1%
Widowed	1.4%	3.2%	1.8%	6.1%	-2.9%

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	50.9%	50.3%	-0.6%	48.4%	1.9%
Good health	34.8%	32.8%	-2.0%	33.6%	-0.8%
Fair health	10.5%	12.5%	2.0%	12.7%	-0.2%
Bad health	2.9%	2.5%	-0.4%	4.0%	-1.5%
Very bad health	0.9%	1.8%	0.9%	1.2%	0.6%

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 low percentage of residents with higher education degree. The UK average is 33.8%, while in this area it is 20.1%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	20.7%	19.7%	-1.0%	18.2%	1.5%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	23.1%	14.9%	-8.2%	9.6%	5.3%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	17.7%	17.2%	-0.5%	13.4%	3.8%
Apprenticeship	2.4%	4.9%	2.5%	5.3%	-0.4%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	11.2%	21%	9.8%	16.9%	4.1%
Degree or Similar	18.4%	20.1%	1.7%	33.8%	-13.7%
Other	6.5%	2.3%	-4.2%	2.8%	-0.5%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is more ethnically diverse compared to the UK average. While 69.9% 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	5.2%	3.2%	-2.0%	1.1%	2.1%
Chinese	0.4%	0.2%	-0.2%	0.7%	-0.5%
Indian	4.5%	3.9%	-0.6%	3.1%	0.8%
Pakistani	0%	2.5%	2.5%	2.7%	-0.2%
Other Asian	0.9%	0%	-0.9%	1.6%	-1.6%
Black African	2.5%	4.4%	1.9%	2.5%	1.9%
Black Caribbean	3.6%	1.1%	-2.5%	1.0%	0.1%
Other Black	2.7%	1.6%	-1.1%	0.5%	1.1%
Mixed White and Asian	1.6%	0.5%	-1.1%	0.8%	-0.3%
Mixed White and African	0%	0.5%	0.5%	0.4%	0.1%
Mixed White and Caribbean	6.7%	4.4%	-2.3%	0.9%	3.5%
Mixed Other	1.3%	2.1%	0.8%	0.8%	1.3%
White	69.7%	69.9%	0.2%	81.4%	-11.5%
Gypsy or Irish Traveller	0%	1.1%	1.1%	0.1%	1.0%
Roma	0%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%
Arab	0.7%	1.6%	0.9%	0.6%	1.0%
Other	0.2%	2.8%	2.6%	1.6%	1.2%

Country of Birth

In this area, 76.3% 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	85.7%	76.3%	-9.4%	83.2%	-6.9%
European Union	5.2%	14.1%	8.9%	6.1%	8.0%
Rest of Europe	0.4%	0.5%	0.1%	0.8%	-0.3%
Africa	3.4%	3.2%	-0.2%	2.7%	0.5%
Middle East and Asia	3.6%	5.3%	1.7%	5.6%	-0.3%
The Americas and the Caribbean	1.8%	0.7%	-1.1%	1.3%	-0.6%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	84.3%	76.4%	-7.9%	83.2%	-6.8%
10+ Years	0.7%	15.7%	15.0%	9.8%	5.9%
5-10 Years	2.7%	3.5%	0.8%	2.9%	0.6%
2-5 Years	3.8%	3.2%	-0.6%	2.2%	1.0%
Less than 2 years	8.5%	1.2%	-7.3%	1.9%	-0.7%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	59.8%	76.7%	-16.9%
Ireland	0.9%	0.6%	0.3%
Germany	0.7%	0.2%	0.5%
Italy	3%	0.6%	2.4%
Portugal	1.8%	0.5%	1.3%
Spain	0.9%	0.4%	0.5%
Lithuania	1.6%	0.3%	1.3%
Poland	8.1%	1.3%	6.8%
Romania	0.7%	0.9%	-0.2%
Other EU countries	0.9%	1.5%	-0.6%
Other Europe	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%
Central and Western Africa	0.2%	0.3%	-0.1%
South and Eastern Africa	0.5%	0.2%	0.3%
Southern Asia	0.5%	1.2%	-0.7%
No passport held	19.9%	13.5%	6.4%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	46.7%	37.2%	9.5%
Christian	34.4%	46.2%	-11.8%
Buddhist	0.5%	0.5%	0.0%
Muslim	9.2%	6.5%	2.7%
Sikh	2.3%	0.9%	1.4%
Other religion	0.5%	0.6%	-0.1%
Not answered	6.5%	6.0%	0.5%

Safety

Is Abbey Fields Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Abbey Fields was 100.3 per 1,000 residents, which is 38.8% lower than the Cauldwell average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Abbey Fields has the 37th highest crime rate of 82 local areas in Cauldwell and the 137th highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 55.1 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has risen by about 7.6%.

🔎 See full breakdown of local crime, hotspots & trends

Affluence

Household Income

Households in this area have a similar level of wealth to the average household in England and Wales. 58% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have higher average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£42,800

Income Rank
5/10

Household Income in MK42 9GP, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 8/10 (high )
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 - 9/10 (very high )
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 - 8/10 (high )
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 - 7/10 (above 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 - 7/10 (above 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 - 6/10 (average )
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) - 9/10 (very high )
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) - 7/10 (above 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 Abbey Fields are based on 24 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 Abbey Fields, Elstow, Bedford, MK42 9GP

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK42 9GP

Average Price
£288,732

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
£335,230

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
£195,736

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Abbey Fields

Average Price
£369,481

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
£369,481

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Abbey FieldsStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
8 Abbey Fields, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£265,000	2021-12-03	£305,125
Flat 10 Abbey Chase Abbey Fields, Bedford, Bedford Flats/Maisonettes, a newly built property	£198,000	2019-06-17	£227,308
Flat 7 Abbey Chase Abbey Fields, Bedford, Bedford Flats/Maisonettes, a newly built property	£200,000	2019-06-07	£229,605
Flat 5 Abbey Chase Abbey Fields, Bedford, Bedford Flats/Maisonettes, a newly built property	£122,500	2019-03-27	£140,000
2 Abbey Fields, Bedford, Bedford Terraced, an established residential building	£255,000	2018-12-14	£321,257

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK42 9GP

Employment

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	131
Part-Time Employee	49
Self-Employed	29
Retired	20
Looking after home or family	18
Student (economically inactive)	17
Long-Term Sick or disabled	16
Unemployed	13
Other	9
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	6

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	46
Human health and social work activities	19
Education	16
Manufacturing	15
Transport and storage	15
Accommodation and food service activities	12
Construction	10
Professional, scientific and technical activities	10
Administrative and support service activities	10
Information and communication	9
Other	6
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	6
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	2
Financial and insurance activities	2
Real estate activities	1
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	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	1,476 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	4out of 4	2,212 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
King's Oak Primary School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	2out of 4	877 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Elstow School Abbeyfields Road Abbeyfields , Elstow MK42 9GP	3out of 4	1,104 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Shackleton Primary School Pearcey Road , MK42 9LZ	3out of 4	1,409 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Shortstown Primary School Beauvais Square , Shortstown MK42 0GS	3out of 4	1,497 yd	Academy converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Cauldwell School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	3out of 4	2,209 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	459 yd	Academy sponsor led	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Free School Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AD	3out of 4	2,423 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	3out of 4	2,624 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Goldington Academy Haylands Way , MK41 9BX	3out of 4	3,564 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Wixams Academy Green Lane , Wixams MK42 6BA	- not rated	3,661 yd	Free schools	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	2,557 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
E-Spired Centre of Excellence The Raleigh Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	2,079 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Girls' School Cardington Road , MK42 0BX	- not rated	2,253 yd	Other independent school	No	Girls	More About School
KWS School 51 Brunel Road , Bedford MK41 9TJ	- not rated	2,679 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
St John's School Austin Canons , Bedford Road MK42 8AA	4out of 4	2,784 yd	Academy special converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Bedford School De Parys Avenue , MK40 2TU	- not rated	3,328 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	Distance
K.M.J. Catering Ltd	Bunyan Centre, 187-189 Mile Road	580 yd
Mile Road, Allotment & Leisure Gardens Association	149 Mile Road	641 yd
AMA’S Palace (E&G Kitchen)	Unit 1, Windsor Road	979 yd
THE HUNTERS' GRILL	Unit 1, Windsor Road	979 yd
Lagos Lounge	Unit 1, Windsor Road	979 yd

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
The Bull	The Bull, 259 London Road		725 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Distance
Harrowden Fisheries	2 Harrowden Lane	543 yd
Fully loaded Bedford Ltd	52 Harrowden Road	645 yd
Tasty Peri Peri	139 Harrowden Road	749 yd
Village Peri-Peri	20 Gostwick Road	1,091 yd

Supermarkets, Hypermarkets

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Best Stop Convenience Store	Unit 2, Abbey Chase, Abbey Fields		1 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Bedford Academy MILE ROAD	artificial grass pitch	404 yd
John Bunyan Health And Fitness MILE ROAD	health and fitness suite, squash courts	489 yd
Bedford Academy (Closed) Mile Road	artificial grass pitch, grass pitches	541 yd
Moor Lane Recreation Ground Moor Lane	grass pitches	659 yd
Harrowden Middle School (Closed) Oak Road	grass pitches	963 yd
Jubilee Park SOUTH LODGE SOUTH LODGE CANVIN WAY	grass pitches	987 yd
Abbey Middle School (Closed) Mowbray Road	grass pitches, swimming pool	1,036 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	80 Mbit/s
Average download speed	110.7 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	160 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	160 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	20 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	22.9 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	30 Mbit/s

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