Simms Close, Wootton, Bedford, MK43 9FX

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. However, the area surrounding MK43 9FX, has a female population slightly higher than UK average, with 52.1% 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	56.1%	52.1%	-4.0%	51.0%	1.1%
Male	43.9%	47.9%	4.0%	49.0%	-1.1%

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	26.6%	41.2%	14.6%	37.9%	3.3%
Married: Opposite sex	41.4%	47.1%	5.7%	44.2%	2.9%
Married: Same sex	0.4%	0.7%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%
Separated	1.7%	1%	-0.7%	2.2%	-1.2%
Divorced	16.9%	9.5%	-7.4%	9.1%	0.4%
Widowed	13.1%	0.7%	-12.4%	6.1%	-5.4%

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 (93.4%) 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	41.8%	65.1%	23.3%	48.4%	16.7%
Good health	29.3%	28.3%	-1.0%	33.6%	-5.3%
Fair health	22%	4.2%	-17.8%	12.7%	-8.5%
Bad health	6.3%	1.7%	-4.6%	4.0%	-2.3%
Very bad health	0.7%	0.8%	0.1%	1.2%	-0.4%

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.

In the area around MK43 9FX this area, 6.3% of residents have no qualifications. This is significantly lower than the UK average of 18.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	30.8%	6.3%	-24.5%	18.2%	-11.9%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	16.5%	9%	-7.5%	9.6%	-0.6%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	12.2%	13%	0.8%	13.4%	-0.4%
Apprenticeship	4.2%	2.7%	-1.5%	5.3%	-2.6%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	10.5%	23.7%	13.2%	16.9%	6.8%
Degree or Similar	17.7%	42.3%	24.6%	33.8%	8.5%
Other	8%	3%	-5.0%	2.8%	0.2%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is more ethnically diverse compared to the UK average. While 71.9% 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	0%	1.9%	1.9%	1.1%	0.8%
Chinese	0%	0.6%	0.6%	0.7%	-0.1%
Indian	1.7%	5.4%	3.7%	3.1%	2.3%
Pakistani	0%	1.5%	1.5%	2.7%	-1.2%
Other Asian	1%	1.7%	0.7%	1.6%	0.1%
Black African	1.4%	5%	3.6%	2.5%	2.5%
Black Caribbean	1%	1.3%	0.3%	1.0%	0.3%
Other Black	1%	0.4%	-0.6%	0.5%	-0.1%
Mixed White and Asian	0.7%	2.5%	1.8%	0.8%	1.7%
Mixed White and African	0%	0.8%	0.8%	0.4%	0.4%
Mixed White and Caribbean	2.8%	4.2%	1.4%	0.9%	3.3%
Mixed Other	0.7%	1.9%	1.2%	0.8%	1.1%
White	89.2%	71.9%	-17.3%	81.4%	-9.5%
Arab	0%	0.4%	0.4%	0.6%	-0.2%
Other	0.3%	0.6%	0.3%	1.6%	-1.0%

Country of Birth

In this area, 86.9% 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	91.6%	86.9%	-4.7%	83.2%	3.7%
European Union	3.1%	3.5%	0.4%	6.1%	-2.6%
Rest of Europe	0.7%	0%	-0.7%	0.8%	-0.8%
Africa	1.4%	4.4%	3.0%	2.7%	1.7%
Middle East and Asia	2.1%	5.2%	3.1%	5.6%	-0.4%
The Americas and the Caribbean	1%	0%	-1.0%	1.3%	-1.3%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	91.6%	86.7%	-4.9%	83.2%	3.5%
10+ Years	0%	8.7%	8.7%	9.8%	-1.1%
5-10 Years	1%	3.7%	2.7%	2.9%	0.8%
2-5 Years	2.1%	0.8%	-1.3%	2.2%	-1.4%
Less than 2 years	5.2%	0%	-5.2%	1.9%	-1.9%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	82.4%	76.7%	5.7%
Ireland	1%	0.6%	0.4%
Italy	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%
Portugal	0.6%	0.5%	0.1%
Spain	0.8%	0.4%	0.4%
Lithuania	0.6%	0.3%	0.3%
Poland	0.6%	1.3%	-0.7%
Romania	0.2%	0.9%	-0.7%
Other EU countries	0.4%	1.5%	-1.1%
Central and Western Africa	0.8%	0.3%	0.5%
South and Eastern Africa	0.4%	0.2%	0.2%
Eastern Asia	0.2%	0.3%	-0.1%
Southern Asia	1.9%	1.2%	0.7%
No passport held	9.3%	13.5%	-4.2%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	48.9%	37.2%	11.7%
Christian	34.1%	46.2%	-12.1%
Hindu	3.1%	1.7%	1.4%
Jewish	0.6%	0.5%	0.1%
Muslim	5.8%	6.5%	-0.7%
Sikh	1.7%	0.9%	0.8%
Other religion	1%	0.6%	0.4%
Not answered	4.8%	6.0%	-1.2%

Safety

Is Simms Close Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Simms Close was 59.1 per 1,000 residents, which is 1.2% lower than the Wixams & Wilstead average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Simms Close has the 9th highest crime rate of 28 local areas in Wixams & Wilstead and the 252nd highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 38.6 crimes per 1,000 residents and have remained broadly unchanged year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has stayed broadly stable by about 1.4%.

🔎 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. 70% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£51,100

Income Rank
8/10

Household Income in MK43 9FX, 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 - 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 - 6/10 (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 - 6/10 (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 - 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 - 3/10 (low )
The Crime Domain measures the risk of people and property being victims of crime in a local area.
Barriers to Housing and Services Domain - 2/10 (very 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 - 3/10 (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) - 8/10 (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) - 6/10 (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 Simms Close are based on 22 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 Simms Close, Wootton, Bedford, MK43 9FX

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK43 9FX

Average Price
£429,650

Semi-Detached
£208,772

Terraced
no sales

Detached
£476,982

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Simms Close

Average Price
£461,066

Semi-Detached
£219,738

Terraced
no sales

Detached
£499,170

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Simms CloseStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
21 Simms Close, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£550,000	2025-10-23	£550,000
8 Simms Close, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£395,000	2025-03-28	£414,671
10 Simms Close, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£375,000	2024-09-23	£393,675
9 Simms Close, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£395,000	2022-03-25	£434,582
17 Simms Close, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£478,000	2019-12-06	£589,254

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK43 9FX

Employment

MK43 9FX area has a low unemployment rate. According to Census 2021, 2% 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	183
Part-Time Employee	43
Self-Employed	20
Looking after home or family	15
Student (economically inactive)	10
Long-Term Sick or disabled	9
Other	8
Retired	6
Unemployed	6
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	5

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	21
Education	19
Construction	18
Human health and social work activities	14
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	8
Transport and storage	7
Manufacturing	6
Other	4
Administrative and support service activities	4
Accommodation and food service activities	4
Professional, scientific and technical activities	3
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	3
Financial and insurance activities	2
Information and communication	2
Real estate activities	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	4,963 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Cherry Trees Nursery School Hawkins Road , MK42 9LS	4out of 4	5,392 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Wootton Lower School Bedford Road , Wootton MK43 9JT	3out of 4	584 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Balliol Primary School Balliol Road , Kempston MK42 7ER	3out of 4	2,218 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Kempston Rural Primary School Martell Drive , MK42 7FJ	4out of 4	2,259 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Broadmead Lower School Park Crescent , Stewartby MK43 9NN	2out of 4	3,081 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Road Primary School Hillgrounds Road , Kempston MK42 8QH	2out of 4	3,152 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Wootton Upper School Hall End Road , Wootton MK43 9HT	3out of 4	1,511 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Kempston Challenger Academy Hill Rise , Kempston MK42 7EB	3out of 4	1,756 yd	Academy sponsor led	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	3out of 4	3,329 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Wixams Academy Green Lane , Wixams MK42 6BA	- not rated	4,076 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Biddenham International School and Sports College Biddenham Turn , MK40 4AZ	3out of 4	5,101 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School

Middle deemed secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Marston Vale Middle School The Crescent , Stewartby MK43 9NH	2out of 4	3,598 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School

16 plus

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Kimberley 16 - 19 Stem College Green Lane , Stewartby MK43 9LY	- not rated	2,945 yd	Free schools 16 to 19	No	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Ridgeway School Hill Rise , Kempston MK42 7EB	3out of 4	1,622 yd	Community special school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Greys Education Centre Manor Drive , Kempston MK42 7AB	3out of 4	2,857 yd	Academy alternative provision converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Grange Academy Halsey Road , Kempston MK42 8AU	3out of 4	3,646 yd	Academy special converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
St John's School Austin Canons , Bedford Road MK42 8AA	4out of 4	4,529 yd	Academy special converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
E-Spired Centre of Excellence The Raleigh Centre , Ampthill Road MK42 9HE	- not rated	5,394 yd	Other independent school	No	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
Rumbles Fish Bar Wootton	Unit 4, Folkes Road		486 yd
Pats Pizza	1a Yew Tree Court, Bedford Road		718 yd

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
The Cock Inn	The Cock Inn, 2 Bedford Road		718 yd
Fox & Duck	The Fox And Duck, 13 Bedford Road		718 yd

Supermarkets, Hypermarkets

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Tesco	14 Cause End Road		694 yd
Wootton Convenience Store	43a Tithe Barn Road		939 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Weston Park Blue Cross Club BEDFORD ROAD	grass pitches	553 yd
Wootton Lower School BEDFORD ROAD	grass pitches	696 yd
Wootton Recreation Ground Church Road	grass pitches	866 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	204.9 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	600 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	600 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	20 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	20.5 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	75 Mbit/s

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