Skirbeck
Boston 004 · 5 sub-areas · 8,874 residents
Boston 004 is a residential stretch of Boston, Lincolnshire, home to around 8,900 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £750 a month — noticeably cheaper than the UK average and well below what you'd pay in most English cities. The neighbourhood has a notably high social housing share, an older age profile, and very high car dependency.
Skirbeck is a mid-density neighbourhood of Boston in the East Midlands region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services.
Overview
What's it like to live in Skirbeck?
2 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; 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 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Skirbeck in Boston
Living in Skirbeck
Boston 004 sits within one of Lincolnshire's most affordable towns, and this part of it reflects that clearly. Rents here are low by almost any English benchmark — a two-bedroom home at around £750 a month is roughly £450 less than the UK median for the same size. That gap is significant, and it's the single biggest draw for anyone whose work tethers them to this part of the East Midlands.
The cost picture looks affordable on paper, but it comes with context. The area scores in the second decile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation — meaning it ranks among the more deprived neighbourhoods in England. Unemployment claims run at about 4.9%, and the median resident salary sits at around £27,700 a year, modest by national standards. Around 46% of that take-home pay goes on rent, which is a high proportion for somewhere this cheap — a sign that local earnings are stretched rather than that rents are comfortable.
The neighbourhood has a broad age spread, with families and under-18s making up a significant share. Tenure tells an interesting story: just over half of homes are owner-occupied, but around one in four is social housing — a notably high share compared to most areas. That mix shapes the feel of the area: it's settled and largely family-oriented, without the churn of a more transient renter-heavy neighbourhood.
Practically speaking, getting around here means having a car. Over three-quarters of residents drive to work, and public transport use is minimal. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.9 km away — about a 24-minute walk — which isn't far, but the rail links from Boston itself are slow. The public transport journey to London runs to around two hours and twenty minutes. If you're planning to commute regularly to a major city, factor that in carefully. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on specific pockets within Boston 004.
What you'll need on day one
Compare Skirbeck with
Frequently asked
- Is Boston 004 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. Rents are low and buying is more achievable here than almost anywhere in England, with a deposit-to-price ratio of just 3.3 years. The trade-off is that local schools underperform the national average, transport links to major cities are slow, and the area ranks in the more deprived deciles nationally. It suits people who value space and affordability over connectivity.
- What is the rent in Boston 004?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £595 a month, a two-bedroom about £750, and a three-bedroom roughly £910. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 2% in the past year, which is modest compared to recent national trends.
- Is Boston 004 safe?
- The crime rate sits at around 82 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — close to the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's neither notably safe nor a hotspot. The area's high deprivation score means antisocial behaviour can be a factor in certain streets, so it's worth checking street-level crime data for a specific address before deciding.
- What's the commute from Boston 004 to the nearest major city?
- By public transport, London takes around two hours and twenty minutes and Birmingham around three hours. The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.9 km from the neighbourhood's typical centre — roughly a 24-minute walk. The vast majority of residents drive rather than use public transport, so most commutes within the region are by car.
- Who lives in Boston 004?
- A broadly spread population of around 8,900 people — families with children, older residents, and a notable proportion of migrant workers. About a quarter of residents were born outside the UK. Just over half own their home, and around one in four lives in social housing, which is a higher share than most English neighbourhoods.
- What schools are near Boston 004?
- There are 50 schools within roughly 2 km, but only about 22% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of around 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 23 km away. Families with children should research specific schools carefully and check catchment boundaries before choosing a street to rent or buy on.
- Is Boston 004 affordable to buy in?
- Yes — it's one of the more accessible areas in England for first-time buyers. The median sale price is around £181,000, and the years-to-deposit ratio is just 3.3, meaning a typical buyer here needs to save for significantly less time than in most English towns. That said, local salaries are modest, so affordability depends heavily on job situation.