Observer Drive, Watford, WD18 7GR

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. However, the area surrounding WD18 7GR is primarily male, with 54.3% of the population being male. Several factors can contribute to this, including areas with industries or sectors that predominantly employ men, proximity to universities or technical schools with a higher enrollment of male students, presence of all-male or predominantly male institutions (military academies, boarding schools).

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	51.1%	45.7%	-5.4%	51.0%	-5.3%
Male	48.9%	54.3%	5.4%	49.0%	5.3%

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 vicinity of WD18 7GR there is a very large concentration of residents that are married - 52.5% of the resident population. In contrast, the average marriage rate across the census is about 44%.

Areas with a high percentage of married residents are typically suburban neighborhoods, towns with good schools and family-friendly amenities, and regions with affordable, spacious housing options. Additionally, such areas can be popular among retirees.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Single	41.8%	34.5%	-7.3%	37.9%	-3.4%
Married: Opposite sex	48.4%	52.5%	4.1%	44.2%	8.3%
Civil partnership: Opposite sex	0%	1.1%	1.1%	0.1%	1.0%
Separated	3.8%	1.1%	-2.7%	2.2%	-1.1%
Divorced	4.3%	8.5%	4.2%	9.1%	-0.6%
Widowed	1.6%	2.3%	0.7%	6.1%	-3.8%

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 (89.5%) 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	54.3%	59.1%	4.8%	48.4%	10.7%
Good health	35.4%	30.4%	-5.0%	33.6%	-3.2%
Fair health	7.6%	10.5%	2.9%	12.7%	-2.2%
Bad health	2.7%	0%	-2.7%	4.0%	-4.0%

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 high percentage of residents with higher education degree or similar. The UK average is 33.8%, while in this area it is 61.9%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	6%	12.5%	6.5%	18.2%	-5.7%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	12.5%	2.3%	-10.2%	9.6%	-7.3%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	17.4%	7.4%	-10.0%	13.4%	-6.0%
Apprenticeship	0.5%	2.3%	1.8%	5.3%	-3.0%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	11.4%	11.9%	0.5%	16.9%	-5.0%
Degree or Similar	43.5%	61.9%	18.4%	33.8%	28.1%
Other	8.7%	1.7%	-7.0%	2.8%	-1.1%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is more ethnically diverse compared to the UK average. While 40.6% 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)
Chinese	2.7%	1.2%	-1.5%	0.7%	0.5%
Indian	22.4%	26.9%	4.5%	3.1%	23.8%
Pakistani	1.3%	7.6%	6.3%	2.7%	4.9%
Other Asian	2.7%	2.8%	0.1%	1.6%	1.2%
Black African	4.5%	1.6%	-2.9%	2.5%	-0.9%
Black Caribbean	1.3%	0.8%	-0.5%	1.0%	-0.2%
Other Black	0%	1.6%	1.6%	0.5%	1.1%
Mixed White and Asian	0.4%	1.2%	0.8%	0.8%	0.4%
Mixed White and African	0.9%	1.6%	0.7%	0.4%	1.2%
Mixed White and Caribbean	0.9%	1.2%	0.3%	0.9%	0.3%
White	61%	40.6%	-20.4%	81.4%	-40.8%
Roma	0%	5.6%	5.6%	0.2%	5.4%
Arab	0%	3.6%	3.6%	0.6%	3.0%
Other	1.8%	3.6%	1.8%	1.6%	2.0%

Country of Birth

In this area, 51.8% of the population were born in the United Kingdom, which is lower than the UK average of 83.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	60.5%	51.8%	-8.7%	83.2%	-31.4%
European Union	9%	17%	8.0%	6.1%	10.9%
Rest of Europe	0.4%	2%	1.6%	0.8%	1.2%
Africa	6.7%	5.3%	-1.4%	2.7%	2.6%
Middle East and Asia	16.1%	19.8%	3.7%	5.6%	14.2%
The Americas and the Caribbean	5.8%	3.2%	-2.6%	1.3%	1.9%
Oceania	1.3%	0.8%	-0.5%	0.3%	0.5%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	58.3%	52%	-6.3%	83.2%	-31.2%
10+ Years	2.2%	25.2%	23.0%	9.8%	15.4%
5-10 Years	8.1%	6.1%	-2.0%	2.9%	3.2%
2-5 Years	18.4%	6.1%	-12.3%	2.2%	3.9%
Less than 2 years	13%	10.6%	-2.4%	1.9%	8.7%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	71.2%	76.7%	-5.5%
Ireland	0.4%	0.6%	-0.2%
Italy	5.3%	0.6%	4.7%
Portugal	1.2%	0.5%	0.7%
Spain	0.4%	0.4%	0.0%
Romania	3.3%	0.9%	2.4%
Other EU countries	6.6%	1.5%	5.1%
South and Eastern Africa	0.4%	0.2%	0.2%
Eastern Asia	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%
Southern Asia	6.6%	1.2%	5.4%
North America and the Caribbean	0.8%	0.3%	0.5%
No passport held	3.3%	13.5%	-10.2%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	23.1%	37.2%	-14.1%
Christian	31.2%	46.2%	-15.0%
Buddhist	0.4%	0.5%	-0.1%
Hindu	19.4%	1.7%	17.7%
Jewish	0.4%	0.5%	-0.1%
Muslim	15.4%	6.5%	8.9%
Sikh	1.2%	0.9%	0.3%
Other religion	2.8%	0.6%	2.2%
Not answered	6.1%	6.0%	0.1%

Safety

Is Observer Drive Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Observer Drive was 41.8 per 1,000 residents, which is 25.4% lower than the Nascot average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Observer Drive has the 23rd highest crime rate of 47 local areas in Nascot and the 73rd lowest crime rate of 275 local areas in Watford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 22.5 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -36.7%.

🔎 See full breakdown of local crime, hotspots & trends

Affluence

Household Income

Households in this area have a much higher level of wealth compared to the average household in England and Wales. 96% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£67,900

Income Rank
10/10

Household Income in WD18 7GR, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 4/10 (below 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 - 4/10 (below 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 - 3/10 (low )
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 - 1/10 (very low )
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 - 1/10 (very low )
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 - 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) - 3/10 (low )
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 Observer Drive are based on 127 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for Watford.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for Observer Drive, Watford, WD18 7GR

Estimated Average Property Prices for WD18 7GR

Average Price
£705,748

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
£690,204

Detached
£731,653

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Observer Drive

Average Price
£401,854

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
£703,942

Detached
£709,284

Flats/Maisonettes
£364,144

Other
no sales

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Observer DriveStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
3 Observer Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire Detached, an established residential building	£710,000	2024-06-25	£716,075
7 Observer Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire Terraced, an established residential building	£595,000	2017-01-27	£682,625
9 Observer Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire Terraced, an established residential building	£495,000	2015-02-12	£734,516
3 Observer Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire Detached, an established residential building	£396,000	2011-08-10	£729,352
6 Observer Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire Detached, an established residential building	£248,750	2009-04-03	£561,175

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for WD18 7GR

Employment

WD18 7GR area has a very high level of entrepreneurship. Only 10% of streets have higher percent of entrepreneur residents. 15% of population in this area is self-employed, while the average in the UK is 9.7%. High number of entrepreneurs usually leads to relatively high economic growth, higher paid jobs and better quality of life in the area.

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	93
Self-Employed	26
Part-Time Employee	18
Unemployed	9
Retired	9
Student (economically inactive)	7
Other	6
Looking after home or family	6
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	2
Long-Term Sick or disabled	0

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	24
Human health and social work activities	20
Information and communication	17
Professional, scientific and technical activities	11
Financial and insurance activities	11
Education	10
Other	10
Construction	10
Manufacturing	9
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	8
Administrative and support service activities	5
Accommodation and food service activities	4
Transport and storage	2
Real estate activities	2

Schools

Nursery

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Oxhey Early Years Centre Eastbury Road , Oxhey WD19 4RL	4out of 4	2,318 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Kingswood Nursery School Briar Road , WD25 0DX	4out of 4	4,399 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Ascot Road Primary School Ascot Road , WD18 8AD	3out of 4	622 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
St Anthony's Catholic Primary School Croxley View , WD18 6BW	4out of 4	811 yd	Voluntary aided school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Chater Infant School Southsea Avenue , WD18 7RD	3out of 4	896 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Lanchester Primary School Hempstead Road , WD17 3HD	3out of 4	1,233 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Holywell Primary School Tolpits Lane , WD18 6LL	3out of 4	1,243 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Watford Grammar School for Boys Rickmansworth Road , WD18 7JF	4out of 4	430 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Boys	More About School
Croxley Danes School Baldwins Lane , Croxley Green WD3 3LR	- not rated	920 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Westfield Academy Tolpits Lane , WD18 6NS	3out of 4	925 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Watford Grammar School for Girls Lady's Close , WD18 0AE	4out of 4	1,701 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Girls	More About School
The Watford UTC 18 Colonial Way , WD24 4PT	3out of 4	2,711 yd	University technical college	No	Mixed	More About School

16 plus

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
West Herts College Watford Campus , Hempstead Road WD17 3EZ	- not rated	1,206 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Chessbrook Education Support Centre Tolpits Lane , WD18 6LJ	4out of 4	824 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Merchant Taylors' School Sandy Lodge , HA6 2HT	- not rated	2,477 yd	Other independent school	No	Boys	More About School
Merchant Taylors' Prep School Moor Farm , Sandy Lodge Road WD3 1LW	- not rated	2,797 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Boys	More About School
York House School Sarratt Road , Croxley Green WD3 4LW	- not rated	3,140 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Longwood School Bushey Hall Drive , WD23 2QG	- not rated	3,385 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	Distance
Pucka Tucka	506 Whippendell Road, Watford	373 yd
Rising Sun, Brewers Fayre	Brewers Fayre And Travel Inn, 2 Ascot Road	522 yd
Med Cakes	308 Whippendell Road, Watford	533 yd
Costa Coffee	153 High Street, Rickmansworth	590 yd
The Cafe In The Park	3 Cassiobury Park, Watford	605 yd

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Distance
Pangea Spirit	1 Metropolitan Station Approach, Watford	360 yd
The Shamrock	510 Whippendell Road, Watford	373 yd
West Herts Sports Club	W H Sports Club Limited, 8 Park Avenue	947 yd
The Harvester	Harvester, Watford Road	1,080 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Distance
New Happy Place Chinese Takeaway	500 Whippendell Road, Watford	373 yd
BloomsYard	70 Cassiobury Park Avenue, Watford	450 yd
Yummy Yummy Take Away	104 Princes Avenue, Watford	474 yd
Pizza And Kebab Corner	288 - 290 Whippendell Road, Watford	533 yd
BVRGR CO	310 Whippendell Road, Watford	533 yd

Supermarkets, Hypermarkets

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Budgens	1 Printers Avenue, Watford		434 yd
Tesco	170 Whippendell Road, Watford		816 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Watford Grammar School For Boys RICKMANSWORTH ROAD	grass pitches, health and fitness suite, tennis courts	331 yd
Westfield Community Sports Centre WESTFIELD COMMUNITY SPORTS CENTRE WESTFIELD COMMUNITY SPORTS CENTRE TOLPITS LANE	artificial grass pitch, health and fitness suite	669 yd
Cassiobury Park PARK PARK CASSIOBURY PARK	grass pitches, tennis courts	763 yd
Westfield Academy TOLPITS LANE	artificial grass pitch, grass pitches, swimming pool	812 yd
West Herts Golf Club ROUSEBARN LANE	golf	974 yd
West Herts Sports Club PARK AVENUE	grass pitches, health and fitness suite, squash courts, tennis courts	986 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	74.3 Mbit/s
Average download speed	72.1 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	80 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	80 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

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

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

Overview of WD18 7GR