High Street, Elstow, Bedford, MK42 9XP

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. The local area around MK42 9XP is generally consistent with those figures, having a male population of 49.9%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	52.3%	50.1%	-2.2%	51.0%	-0.9%
Male	47.7%	49.9%	2.2%	49.0%	0.9%

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	28.3%	36.3%	8.0%	37.9%	-1.6%
Married: Opposite sex	39.9%	32.9%	-7.0%	44.2%	-11.3%
Married: Same sex	0.9%	0%	-0.9%	0.3%	-0.3%
Separated	3.6%	4.8%	1.2%	2.2%	2.6%
Divorced	13.9%	17.5%	3.6%	9.1%	8.4%
Widowed	13.5%	8.6%	-4.9%	6.1%	2.5%

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	38.9%	41.8%	2.9%	48.4%	-6.6%
Good health	34.7%	33%	-1.7%	33.6%	-0.6%
Fair health	18.7%	19.5%	0.8%	12.7%	6.8%
Bad health	6.5%	5.2%	-1.3%	4.0%	1.2%
Very bad health	1.1%	0.6%	-0.5%	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.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	35.9%	18.8%	-17.1%	18.2%	0.6%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	15.2%	14.4%	-0.8%	9.6%	4.8%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	10.8%	11%	0.2%	13.4%	-2.4%
Apprenticeship	3.1%	6.8%	3.7%	5.3%	1.5%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	7.6%	16.8%	9.2%	16.9%	-0.1%
Degree or Similar	22.4%	29.1%	6.7%	33.8%	-4.7%
Other	4.9%	3.1%	-1.8%	2.8%	0.3%

Culture

Ethnic Group

This area closely mirrors the overall ethnic composition of the UK, with 80.6% 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%	2.9%	2.9%	1.1%	1.8%
Indian	5%	5.4%	0.4%	3.1%	2.3%
Pakistani	0%	0.3%	0.3%	2.7%	-2.4%
Other Asian	0%	0.9%	0.9%	1.6%	-0.7%
Black African	0.4%	1.7%	1.3%	2.5%	-0.8%
Black Caribbean	0%	1.7%	1.7%	1.0%	0.7%
Mixed White and Asian	0%	0.9%	0.9%	0.8%	0.1%
Mixed White and African	1.1%	1.4%	0.3%	0.4%	1.0%
Mixed White and Caribbean	2.7%	2%	-0.7%	0.9%	1.1%
Mixed Other	0%	1.4%	1.4%	0.8%	0.6%
White	90.5%	80.6%	-9.9%	81.4%	-0.8%
Gypsy or Irish Traveller	0.4%	0%	-0.4%	0.1%	-0.1%
Roma	0%	0.9%	0.9%	0.2%	0.7%

Country of Birth

In this area, 83.5% 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	88.9%	83.5%	-5.4%	83.2%	0.3%
European Union	3.1%	9.8%	6.7%	6.1%	3.7%
Rest of Europe	0%	0.9%	0.9%	0.8%	0.1%
Africa	4.2%	2%	-2.2%	2.7%	-0.7%
Middle East and Asia	3.1%	3.8%	0.7%	5.6%	-1.8%
The Americas and the Caribbean	0.8%	0%	-0.8%	1.3%	-1.3%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	86.6%	82.8%	-3.8%	83.2%	-0.4%
10+ Years	0.4%	11.7%	11.3%	9.8%	1.9%
5-10 Years	1.1%	2.9%	1.8%	2.9%	0.0%
2-5 Years	3.4%	1.4%	-2.0%	2.2%	-0.8%
Less than 2 years	8.4%	1.1%	-7.3%	1.9%	-0.8%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	76.7%	76.7%	0.0%
Ireland	2.3%	0.6%	1.7%
Italy	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%
Portugal	0.9%	0.5%	0.4%
Lithuania	0.6%	0.3%	0.3%
Poland	3.2%	1.3%	1.9%
Romania	0.9%	0.9%	0.0%
Other EU countries	1.1%	1.5%	-0.4%
Central and Western Africa	0.6%	0.3%	0.3%
Southern Asia	0.3%	1.2%	-0.9%
No passport held	12.9%	13.5%	-0.6%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	41.4%	37.2%	4.2%
Christian	44.3%	46.2%	-1.9%
Hindu	1.1%	1.7%	-0.6%
Muslim	3.7%	6.5%	-2.8%
Sikh	2.9%	0.9%	2.0%
Other religion	1.4%	0.6%	0.8%
Not answered	5.1%	6.0%	-0.9%

Safety

Is High Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around High Street was 101.6 per 1,000 residents, which is 34.4% lower than the Cauldwell average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

High Street has the 41st highest crime rate of 82 local areas in Cauldwell and the 138th highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 34.9 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -58.4%.

🔎 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 9XP, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 5/10 (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 - 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 - 5/10 (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 - 5/10 (average )
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 - 4/10 (below 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 - 6/10 (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 - 5/10 (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) - 5/10 (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) - 5/10 (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 High Street are based on 1723 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for North Bedfordshire.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for High Street, Elstow, Bedford, MK42 9XP

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK42 9XP

Average Price
£373,994

Semi-Detached
£424,173

Terraced
no sales

Detached
£365,763

Flats/Maisonettes
£225,522

Other
£424,138

Estimated Average Property Prices for High Street

Average Price
£487,211

Semi-Detached
£426,729

Terraced
£329,042

Detached
£705,948

Flats/Maisonettes
£183,821

Other
no sales

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on High Street

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
171 High Street, Bedford, Bedford Other, an established residential building	£420,000	2025-07-03	£420,423
Classroom 2, 168B High Street, Bedford, Bedford Flats/Maisonettes, an established residential building	£237,000	2020-09-11	£271,756
The Old School Masters House, 169 High Street, Bedford, Bedford Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£350,000	2020-06-05	£445,339
157 High Street, Bedford, Bedford Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£270,000	2019-09-16	£343,964
172 High Street, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£310,000	2018-02-02	£377,870

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK42 9XP

Employment

MK42 9XP 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	125
Retired	60
Self-Employed	25
Part-Time Employee	22
Long-Term Sick or disabled	20
Other	14
Looking after home or family	9
Unemployed	9
Student (economically inactive)	8
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	1

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	27
Transport and storage	14
Education	14
Human health and social work activities	11
Manufacturing	9
Construction	9
Accommodation and food service activities	8
Administrative and support service activities	7
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	6
Professional, scientific and technical activities	4
Other	3
Information and communication	3
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	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	882 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	4out of 4	1,072 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Southway Nursery School Ampthill Road , MK42 9HE	- not rated	1,187 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Elstow School Abbey Fields , Elstow MK42 9GP	3out of 4	742 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Elstow School Abbeyfields Road Abbeyfields , Elstow MK42 9GP	- not rated	742 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Shackleton Primary School Pearcey Road , MK42 9LZ	3out of 4	921 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Shackleton Primary School Pearcey Road , MK42 9LZ	- not rated	921 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Cauldwell School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	3out of 4	1,048 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
John Bunyan School Mile Road , MK42 9TR	- not rated	1,145 yd	Community school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Academy Mile Road , MK42 9TR	3out of 4	1,204 yd	Academy sponsor led	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	- not rated	1,302 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Free School Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AD	4out of 4	1,768 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Biddenham International School and Sports College Biddenham Turn , MK40 4AZ	3out of 4	3,088 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School

Middle deemed secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Abbey Middle School Mowbray Road , MK42 9XA	- not rated	595 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Middle School Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	- not rated	1,302 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School
Kingsbrook Middle School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	- not rated	1,395 yd	Community school	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Harrowden Middle School Oak Road , MK42 0HH	- not rated	1,395 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Silver Jubilee Middle School Acacia Road , MK42 0HU	- not rated	1,512 yd	Community 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	1,865 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Raleigh Education Centre Raleigh and Southway Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	1,187 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
E-Spired Centre of Excellence The Raleigh Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	1,235 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
St John's School Austin Canons , Bedford Road MK42 8AA	- not rated	1,451 yd	Foundation special school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
St John's School Austin Canons , Bedford Road MK42 8AA	3out of 4	1,451 yd	Academy special converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Teaching Service for Excluded Pupils 2nd Floor, Riverside Suite , County Hall MK42 9AP	- not rated	1,801 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	Distance
Red Lion (Sizzling Pub Co)	The Red Lion, High Street	10 yd
St Helena	St Helena, High Street	10 yd
The Cottage	206 High Street	235 yd
Sensations	24 Gostwick Road	491 yd
Mile Road Cafe	91b Mile Road	575 yd

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Meltis Sports and Social Club	Meltis Sports And Social Club, Miller Road		752 yd
Gardeners Arms	The Gardeners Arms, 12 Sandhurst Road		939 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Distance
Village Peri-Peri	20 Gostwick Road	491 yd
Joyes Chicken	33 Elstow Road	580 yd
Desi Grill	Unit 1, 124 Ampthill Road	655 yd
Pizzeria Chirico	26-28 Mabel Road	713 yd
London Sweet Centre	London Sweet Centre, 86 Ampthill Road	798 yd

Supermarkets, Hypermarkets

Business Name	Address	Distance
Tesco	13 Beauvais Square	459 yd
Aldi	Aldi, Westville Road	756 yd
SAS Supermarket	Unit 2, 82 Ampthill Road	804 yd
Morrisons Service Station Shop	Morrisons, Ampthill Road	1,030 yd
Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited	Morrisons, Ampthill Road	1,030 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Meltis Sports And Social Club MILLER COURT	grass pitches	392 yd
Abbey Middle School (Closed) Mowbray Road	grass pitches, swimming pool	612 yd
Elstow Playing Field WILSTEAD ROAD	grass pitches	840 yd
Moor Lane Recreation Ground Moor Lane	grass pitches	918 yd
Southfield Tennis Courts LAUREL WALK	tennis courts	1,022 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	79.6 Mbit/s
Average download speed	104.5 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	350 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	350 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	20 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	18.3 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	35 Mbit/s

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