Fenside & Lister Way
Boston 002 · 6 sub-areas · 11,053 residents
Boston 002 is a central neighbourhood within the Lincolnshire town of Boston, home to around 11,000 people. A typical two-bedroom flat runs about £750 a month — noticeably below the national average — but the area carries real affordability pressures, with rent taking up nearly half of typical take-home pay. It's one of the most distinctive communities in the East Midlands, with a high share of private and social renters.
Fenside & Lister Way is a green, lower-density part of Boston — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters.
Overview
What's it like to live in Fenside & Lister Way?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; Recorded crime is higher than the national norm — common for built-up urban areas, but worth weighing if you're looking for a quieter base; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £793 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Fenside & Lister Way in Boston
Living in Fenside & Lister Way
Boston 002 sits at the core of Boston, a Lincolnshire market town with a strong agricultural and food-processing economy. It doesn't feel like a commuter suburb — most people here work locally, and the area has a distinctly working-town character rather than the dormitory feel you'd find in many similarly-priced parts of England. House prices are low by any national measure, with a typical home selling for around £140,000, and you can buy with a deposit saved in roughly two and a half years on a local salary.
Rent is low in absolute terms — a two-bedroom home goes for around £750 a month, well under the UK norm of around £1,200 — but local wages are also modest, with the median resident salary sitting at about £27,700 a year. That means rent eats up close to 46% of typical take-home pay, which is a tight squeeze. The gap between what's cheap and what's affordable is worth keeping in mind before you move here.
The population is younger and more varied than you might expect for a small Lincolnshire town. Around a quarter of residents are under 18, and just under a quarter are between 18 and 34. Slightly over half of residents were born in the UK — Boston has one of the highest concentrations of Eastern European migrants of any town in England, which shapes the local food shops, community organisations and general feel of the streets in a way that's genuinely distinctive.
Tenure here is unusual. Social housing accounts for roughly 38% of households — a notably high share — while private renters make up 28% and owner-occupiers just 33%. That tenure mix reflects the town's economic profile: relatively low incomes, limited wealth accumulation, and a significant proportion of residents in publicly supported housing. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how this plays out across the neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Boston 002 a nice place to live?
- It depends on what you're after. It's affordable in absolute terms, with two-bedroom rents around £750 a month and house prices near £140,000. But it scores in the bottom national decile for deprivation, crime is above average, and school quality nearby is well below the national norm. It suits people with ties to the local economy or community, but it's not an obvious choice if you're relocating from a larger city.
- What is the rent in Boston 002?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £595 a month, a two-bedroom about £750, and a three-bedroom roughly £910. These are estimates scaled from council-level ONS data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 2% over the past year — modest by national standards.
- Is Boston 002 safe?
- Crime runs at around 127 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — noticeably above the UK average of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area sits in the most deprived decile nationally, which correlates with higher rates of petty theft and antisocial behaviour. It's not unusually dangerous in absolute terms, but it's worth factoring in compared to surrounding Lincolnshire towns.
- What's the commute from Boston 002 to the nearest major city?
- By public transport, London takes around two hours and seven minutes, Birmingham roughly two hours and forty-seven minutes, and Manchester over three and a half hours. The mainline rail station is about a ten-minute walk away. Most residents drive — nearly three in four commute by car — which reflects how limited public transport options are in this part of Lincolnshire.
- Who lives in Boston 002?
- A mixed community of families, younger adults and social housing tenants. Around a quarter of residents are under 18, and just under a quarter are 18–34. Roughly 55% were born in the UK, with a significant Eastern European population — one of the highest concentrations of EU-born residents of any English town. Social renters make up 38% of households.
- What schools are near Boston 002?
- There are 59 schools within 2km of typical residents, but only around 31% are rated Good or Outstanding — far below the national figure of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is over 23km away. Parents prioritising highly-rated schools will need to look beyond the immediate neighbourhood and plan carefully around catchment areas.
- Is Boston 002 affordable to buy in?
- Yes, by national standards. The median home sells for around £140,000, and a typical buyer can save a deposit in about two and a half years on a local salary — one of the most accessible timescales in the East Midlands. The trade-off is that local wages are modest too, with the median resident earning around £27,700 a year.