The Metro Centre, Watford, WD18 9XL

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. The area surrounding WD18 9XL has a slightly higher male population, with 51.3% of residents 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	44.8%	48.7%	3.9%	51.0%	-2.3%
Male	55.2%	51.3%	-3.9%	49.0%	2.3%

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 9XL there is a very large concentration of residents that are married - 54.4% 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	30%	33.8%	3.8%	37.9%	-4.1%
Married: Opposite sex	58.9%	54.4%	-4.5%	44.2%	10.2%
Separated	1.2%	0.3%	-0.9%	2.2%	-1.9%
Divorced	4.3%	5.7%	1.4%	9.1%	-3.4%
Widowed	5.5%	5.7%	0.2%	6.1%	-0.4%

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 (90.4%) 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	65.6%	57.7%	-7.9%	48.4%	9.3%
Good health	25.2%	32.7%	7.5%	33.6%	-0.9%
Fair health	6.9%	6%	-0.9%	12.7%	-6.7%
Bad health	1.9%	2.3%	0.4%	4.0%	-1.7%
Very bad health	0.3%	1.4%	1.1%	1.2%	0.2%

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 WD18 9XL this area, 5.8% of residents have no qualifications. This is significantly lower than the UK average of 18.2%. 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 69.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	5.9%	5.8%	-0.1%	18.2%	-12.4%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	4.7%	3.4%	-1.3%	9.6%	-6.2%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	9.5%	9.2%	-0.3%	13.4%	-4.2%
Apprenticeship	2%	0.3%	-1.7%	5.3%	-5.0%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	8.7%	10.8%	2.1%	16.9%	-6.1%
Degree or Similar	62.8%	69.2%	6.4%	33.8%	35.4%
Other	6.3%	1.4%	-4.9%	2.8%	-1.4%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is more ethnically diverse compared to the UK average. While 41.4% 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%	0.8%	0.8%	1.1%	-0.3%
Chinese	0.3%	0.8%	0.5%	0.7%	0.1%
Indian	31.9%	36%	4.1%	3.1%	32.9%
Pakistani	4.1%	5.1%	1.0%	2.7%	2.4%
Other Asian	4.4%	7.1%	2.7%	1.6%	5.5%
Black African	4.1%	1.1%	-3.0%	2.5%	-1.4%
Black Caribbean	0%	1.1%	1.1%	1.0%	0.1%
Other Black	0.3%	0%	-0.3%	0.5%	-0.5%
Mixed White and Asian	0.3%	1.4%	1.1%	0.8%	0.6%
Mixed White and Caribbean	0.6%	0.8%	0.2%	0.9%	-0.1%
Mixed Other	0%	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%	0.0%
White	52.7%	41.4%	-11.3%	81.4%	-40.0%
Arab	0%	1.1%	1.1%	0.6%	0.5%
Other	1.3%	2.3%	1.0%	1.6%	0.7%

Country of Birth

In this area, 65% 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	68.1%	65%	-3.1%	83.2%	-18.2%
European Union	1.6%	6.6%	5.0%	6.1%	0.5%
Rest of Europe	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%	0.8%	-0.2%
Africa	11%	11.7%	0.7%	2.7%	9.0%
Middle East and Asia	12.6%	12.8%	0.2%	5.6%	7.2%
The Americas and the Caribbean	5.4%	2.3%	-3.1%	1.3%	1.0%
Oceania	0.6%	1.1%	0.5%	0.3%	0.8%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	67.8%	65%	-2.8%	83.2%	-18.2%
10+ Years	2.5%	27.4%	24.9%	9.8%	17.6%
5-10 Years	4.4%	4%	-0.4%	2.9%	1.1%
2-5 Years	1.9%	1.4%	-0.5%	2.2%	-0.8%
Less than 2 years	23.3%	2.3%	-21.0%	1.9%	0.4%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	88.9%	76.7%	12.2%
Ireland	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%
France	1.1%	0.3%	0.8%
Germany	1.1%	0.2%	0.9%
Italy	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%
Portugal	0.3%	0.5%	-0.2%
Poland	1.1%	1.3%	-0.2%
Romania	0.9%	0.9%	0.0%
Other EU countries	0.9%	1.5%	-0.6%
South and Eastern Africa	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%
Southern Asia	1.7%	1.2%	0.5%
South-East Asia	0.6%	0.2%	0.4%
Oceania	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
No passport held	1.7%	13.5%	-11.8%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	17.7%	37.2%	-19.5%
Christian	27.6%	46.2%	-18.6%
Hindu	23.9%	1.7%	22.2%
Jewish	2.6%	0.5%	2.1%
Muslim	16.8%	6.5%	10.3%
Sikh	6%	0.9%	5.1%
Other religion	2.3%	0.6%	1.7%
Not answered	3.1%	6.0%	-2.9%

Safety

Is The Metro Centre Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around The Metro Centre was 194.4 per 1,000 residents, which is 387.4% higher than the Moor Park & Eastbury average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

The Metro Centre has the highest crime rate of 20 local areas in Moor Park & Eastbury and the 12th highest crime rate of 276 local areas in Three Rivers .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 67.6 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has fallen by about -22.7%.

🔎 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. 99% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£83,500

Income Rank
10/10

Household Income in WD18 9XL, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 1/10 (very low )
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 - 1/10 (very low )
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 - 1/10 (very 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 - 1/10 (very 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 - 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 - 1/10 (very 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) - 1/10 (very low )
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) - 1/10 (very 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 The Metro Centre are based on 25 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for Three Rivers.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for The Metro Centre, Watford, WD18 9XL

Estimated Average Property Prices for WD18 9XL

Average Price
£611,233

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
no sales

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
£611,233

Estimated Average Property Prices for The Metro Centre

Average Price
£584,187

Semi-Detached
no sales

Terraced
no sales

Detached
no sales

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
£584,187

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on The Metro CentreStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
Unit 36 The Metro Centre, Watford, Hertfordshire Other, an established residential building	£595,000	2019-06-11	£636,207

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for WD18 9XL

Employment

WD18 9XL area has a very high level of entrepreneurship. Only 4% of streets have higher percent of entrepreneur residents. 18% 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.

WD18 9XL area has a low unemployment rate. According to Census 2021, 0% 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.

The percentage of student residents living in WD18 9XL area is much higher than the country's average. Usually places with high percentage of students are near Universities and near entertainment places.

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	111
Self-Employed	52
Retired	46
Part-Time Employee	29
Student (economically inactive)	25
Looking after home or family	16
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	6
Other	5
Long-Term Sick or disabled	2
Unemployed	1

Employment Industry

Human health and social work activities	36
Education	23
Professional, scientific and technical activities	18
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	16
Information and communication	14
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	12
Other	11
Financial and insurance activities	9
Construction	7
Manufacturing	7
Accommodation and food service activities	5
Administrative and support service activities	5
Real estate activities	3
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	1
Transport and storage	1

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	2,919 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Harvey Road Primary School Harvey Road , Croxley Green WD3 3BN	4out of 4	1,274 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Holywell Primary School Tolpits Lane , WD18 6LL	3out of 4	1,389 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Malvern Way Infant and Nursery School Malvern Way , Croxley Green WD3 3QQ	4out of 4	1,399 yd	Community school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
St Anthony's Catholic Primary School Croxley View , WD18 6BW	4out of 4	1,500 yd	Voluntary aided school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Ascot Road Primary School Ascot Road , WD18 8AD	3out of 4	1,535 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Croxley Danes School Baldwins Lane , Croxley Green WD3 3LR	- not rated	1,606 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
Rickmansworth School Scots Hill , WD3 3AQ	3out of 4	1,646 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Westfield Academy Tolpits Lane , WD18 6NS	3out of 4	1,689 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School High Street , WD3 1HG	3out of 4	2,273 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Watford Grammar School for Boys Rickmansworth Road , WD18 7JF	4out of 4	2,435 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Boys	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	3,288 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Merchant Taylors' Prep School Moor Farm , Sandy Lodge Road WD3 1LW	- not rated	714 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Boys	More About School
Merchant Taylors' School Sandy Lodge , HA6 2HT	- not rated	1,135 yd	Other independent school	No	Boys	More About School
Chessbrook Education Support Centre Tolpits Lane , WD18 6LJ	4out of 4	1,843 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
St Martin's School 40 Moor Park Road , Northwood HA6 2DJ	- not rated	2,793 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Boys	More About School
Royal Masonic School for Girls Rickmansworth Park , Chorleywood Road WD3 4HF	- not rated	3,064 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Girls	More About School

School statistics for this postcode are based on Ofsted rankings.

Food and Drink

Restaurants, Cafes, Canteens

Business Name	Address	Distance
BaxterStorey @ Camelot UK Ltd	Magdalene House, 2 Wolsey Business Park	506 yd
Sodexo @ Smith & Nephew	Building 5, Hatters Lane	558 yd
Elior UK PLC @ Croxley Park	Cafe, The Hive	868 yd
BaxterStorey - The Café At The Hive	Building 1, Marlins Meadow	928 yd
Tony And Maria's Cafe	Unit Park House, 15 - 19 Greenhill Crescent	931 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Farmhouse Pizza Takeaway	188B Watford Road, Croxley Green		1,049 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Pump Gyms Watford Tolpits Lane TOLPITS LANE	health and fitness suite	303 yd
Merchant Taylors Prep School MOOR FARM MOOR FARM SANDY LODGE ROAD	grass pitches, tennis courts	706 yd
Merchant Taylors School Sports Complex SANDY LODGE LANE	artificial grass pitch, athletics tracks, grass pitches, health and fitness suite, squash courts, swimming pool, tennis courts	855 yd
Anytime Fitness (Croxley Park) THE HIVE THE HIVE HATTERS LANE	health and fitness suite	856 yd
Pump Gyms (Watford) (Closed) PARK HOUSE 15-19 PARK HOUSE 15-19 GREENHILL CRESCENT	health and fitness suite	929 yd

Broadband

We haven't found any broadband statistics for this postcode.

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