What's the median rent in Kempston West & South?

The median monthly rent across Kempston West & South is £1,163.

How well-connected is Kempston West & South?

Transport score: — out of 100. Combines walking time to the nearest rail station, walking time to the nearest metro stop, and public-transport time to clusters with 5,000+ jobs. The nearest rail station is roughly 27 minutes' walk.

What schools are near Kempston West & South?

There are 11 schools within 2 km of Kempston West & South, of which 46% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 2337 m away.

What is the council tax band in Kempston West & South?

The most common council tax band in Kempston West & South is C, with the typical Band D annual charge around £2,220. Council tax is set by Bedford council and applies to every property in the area.

How long is the commute from Kempston West & South to London?

By the fastest direct train, the journey from Kempston West & South to central London is approximately 73 minutes. This is the fastest no-change rail journey from the local area centroid; door-to-door times will vary with walking time to the station.

Is gigabit broadband available in Kempston West & South?

100% of premises in Kempston West & South are gigabit-capable according to Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Most properties can already buy gigabit packages.

What is the deprivation rank of Kempston West & South?

Kempston West & South sits in IMD decile 7 of 10, where 1 is the most deprived 10% of local areas nationally and 10 is the least deprived. The Index of Multiple Deprivation combines income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers and environment.

What's the tenure mix in Kempston West & South?

68% of households in Kempston West & South are owner-occupied. The remainder is split between private renting and social housing — see the Demographics section for the full breakdown from Census 2021.

What is the average property price in Kempston West & South?

The average property price across Bedford (the local authority covering Kempston West & South) is approximately £326,121, per HM Land Registry's House Price Index. Per-local area prices vary; see the cost-of-living section for medians by property type.

Is Kempston West & South a commuter town or workplace hub?

Commuter town — most working residents travel out for work. (0.45 jobs per working-age resident. Median resident salary £35,987.)

Which local areas are part of Kempston West & South?

Kempston West & South contains 7 local areas: Bedford 018B, Bedford 018A, Bedford 018E, Bedford 018F, Bedford 018C…

What is the average rent in Kempston West & South?

The estimated median monthly rent in Kempston West & South is £1,163. This is derived from the council-area ONS rental figure scaled by the local sale-price gradient — see the Cost section for the breakdown by bedroom count and the affordability ratio against local salaries.

Is Kempston West & South a safe place to live?

Kempston West & South has a safety score of 61/100. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crime per 1,000 residents, inverted so 100 is the safest 1% of England + Wales. The Safety section below shows the breakdown by category.

What schools are near Kempston West & South?

46% of schools within 2 km of Kempston West & South are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The Schools section lists individual schools with inspection ratings.

How long is the commute from Kempston West & South?

Public-transport commute time from Kempston West & South to central London is approximately 73 minutes. The Transport section has commute times to every major UK city hub.

How is Kempston West & South different from the rest of Bedford?

Kempston West & South contains 7 sub-areas. The "Sub-areas" section below lets you drill into each one individually — they often vary by 20%+ on rent and demographics within the same neighbourhood.

Where does Kempston West & South rank in Bedford?

Kempston West & South scores 63/100 on our composite liveability index. To see how it stacks up against every other neighbourhood in Bedford, see the Cities table on the Bedford page.

Neighbourhood · Bedford · East of England

Kempston West & South

Bedford 018 · 7 sub-areas · 10,946 residents

Updated May 2026

Verdict

How are these scored? →

Best for Retirees (71/100)Watch-out: Solo renters (53/100)Liveability 63/100 · Above median

Kempston West & South is a green, lower-density part of Bedford — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters.

Median rent

£1,163+4.3%

vs last year

ONS Rent Index (PIPR) · Mar 2026

Crime / 1k / yr

77.3

Above median

Police.uk crime data · Feb 2026

Best hub commute

73 min

Direct to London

Network Rail TTIS (CIF) · Apr 2026

Good schools 2 km

46%

11 schools within 2 km

Ofsted (spatial) · Feb 2026

Liveability

63/100

Above median

Population

10,946

7 sub-areas

ONS LSOA mid-2024 estimates · 2024

Overview

What's it like to live in Kempston West & South?

A snapshot of Kempston West & South

3 parks and 2 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; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,163 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.

Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically

Figures are aggregated across 7 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.

Kempston West & South in Bedford

Cost

Cost of living

What does it cost to live here?

Rent runs at £1,163 a month — 6% above the national median. Council tax is most commonly Band C.

Median rentCouncil area

£1,163/mo

Up 4.3% on last year

+£63 vs nat'l avg

Total monthly baseline

£1,348/mo

Rent + council tax + indicative utilities

Council tax — modal bandCouncil area

Around £2,220/yr · £185/mo

Years to save 10% deposit

4.0 yr

Assumes saving 20% of gross salary

−20% vs nat'l avg

Rent — whole property and per room (sharing)2-bed: £1,020/mo · £510/room

By bedroom count

1 bedroom£793/mosolo only

2 bedrooms£1,020/mo£510/mo per room shared

3 bedrooms£1,247/mo£416/mo per room shared

4 bedrooms£1,796/mo£449/mo per room shared

By property type

Flat£908/mo

Terraced house£1,137/mo

Semi-detached£1,301/mo

Detached house£1,587/mo

Can you afford to live here?Rent as a share of take-home, four common living arrangements

Renting alone

Whole property, on the local median salary

47%

of take-home

£1,163/mo per person · take-home £2,453/moA stretch

Sharing a 2-bed

Half a 2-bed flat, on the local median salary

21%

of take-home

£510/mo per person · take-home £2,453/moComfortable

Sharing a 3-bed

One room in a 3-bed flat-share

17%

of take-home

£416/mo per person · take-home £2,453/moComfortable

Couple, two incomes

Whole property split between two earners on the local median salary

24%

of take-home

£582/mo per person · take-home £2,453/moComfortable

Take-home is calculated from the median resident salary using UK 2024–25 income-tax + NI bands. Higher earners and dual-income households see lower percentages than the table shows; the median figures are a market benchmark, not a personal estimate.

Buying — affordability detail~£1,526/mo on a 25-year mortgage at 5%

Median sale price (Land Registry)£290,000

Average price (HPI, smoother)Council area£326,1213.6% YoY

Estimated monthly mortgage£1,526/mo

Gross rental yield (BTL)4.2%

Years to save 10% deposit4.0 years

Bills — council tax, energy, fuel povertyCouncil tax (Band D, all-in): £2,472/yr

Council tax — Band D (incl. precepts)Council area£2,472/yr

Council tax — band-mix-weighted (typical home)Council area£2,220/yr

EPC median rating—

Homes rated A or B4%

Households in fuel poverty8.3%

Source: ONS PIPR (rent), HM Land Registry / HMLR HPI (sale prices), VOA + MHCLG (council tax), MHCLG EPC bulk download, DESNZ LILEE (fuel poverty).

Safety

How safe is Kempston West & South?

Safety scores 61/100 against the national distribution, with police-recorded crime running 23% below the national average (77.3 per 1,000 residents per year).

Crime / 1k / yr

77.3

recorded incidents per 1,000 residents · 10 / month

Safety scoreHow? →

61/100

Higher is safer (national percentile)

Deprivation decile

7/10

1 = most deprived nationally · 10 = least

How crime is measured

What's counted. Incidents recorded by territorial police forces and published to data.police.uk each month. Rates use the latest 12 months of data divided by the area's mid-2024 ONS resident population — so the figure is reported incidents per 1,000 residents per year.

Anti-social behaviour is the largest category in most areas and is worth reading carefully — it's a community-reports bucket (noise, rowdiness, nuisance), not "crime" in the legal sense. ASB and shoplifting are weighted lower than violent offences in the safety score on each page.

Caveats. The denominator is residents, so workday and tourist destinations can look worse than they feel for someone living there. Greater Manchester forces stopped publishing to data.police.uk in 2020, so figures for those areas are intentionally blank rather than misleadingly low.

Crime by category, per 1,000 residents per yearBar lengths show share of total recorded crime.

Violent & sexual offences

30.5 /1k

Anti-social behaviour

11.0 /1k

Public order

5.1 /1k

Vehicle crime

3.9 /1k

Criminal damage & arson

5.2 /1k

Burglary

3.1 /1k

Other theft

3.9 /1k

Shoplifting

20.3 /1k

Drugs

1.3 /1k

Theft from the person

0.6 /1k

Possession of weapons

1.3 /1k

Robbery

0.6 /1k

Bicycle theft

1.3 /1k

Source: data.police.uk monthly counts (12-month rolling, normalised by ONS mid-year population). Greater Manchester values use IMD 2019 crime-domain proxy.

Transport

Getting around Kempston West & South

Strong transport links — 75/100; nearest rail station is Kempston Hardwick at around 2196 m; 15 bus stops within five minutes' walk; London is reachable in 73 minutes by direct train.

Transport scoreHow? →

75/100

Above median

Best hub commute

73 min

Direct to London

WFH share

23%

Census 2021 — work mostly from home

Nearest National Rail

Kempston Hardwick

2.2 km walk · 73 min to London

Nearest tube / metro / tram

Out of metro reach

Nearest metro is more than 5 km away.

Commute by train to major UK hubsFastest: London in 73 min

Londonapprox

73 min

Manchesterapprox

153 min

Birminghamapprox

106 min

Leedsapprox

177 min

Liverpoolapprox

164 min

Bristolapprox

183 min

Sheffieldapprox

146 min

Edinburghapprox

302 min

Glasgowapprox

314 min

Cardiffapprox

209 min

Walking time from the LSOA centroid to the nearest station, plus the fastest direct train from there. Routes that require a change of train are marked “approx” (haversine fallback).

How residents commute (Census 2021)23% work from home

Drive58%Public transport3%Walk / cycle11%Work from home23%

Method of travel to work for residents in employment, Census 2021 (TS061).

Broadband — gigabit available (1,000 Mbps) to most homesTop speed available: 1,000 Mbps · effectively universal

Top advertised speedCouncil area1,000 Mbps (gigabit)

Gigabit-ready (1,000 Mbps)Council area100% of premises

Ultrafast (≥300 Mbps)Council area100% of premises

Below USO (under 10 Mbps)Council area0.0% of premises

Outdoor 5G coverageCouncil area98%

Coverage from Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Top speeds reflect what's available to buy at the address; actual experienced speeds depend on the chosen package and provider.

Source: National Rail TTIS timetable (direct journey times), TfL Open Data + OSM (metros), Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, ONS Census 2021 (TS061).

Schools

Schools near Kempston West & South

11 schools within a 2 km radius; around 46% rated Good or Outstanding — somewhat below the national norm; the nearest Outstanding school, Great Denham Primary School, is around 2369 m away.

School scoreHow? →

79/100

Top quartile

Schools within 2 km

5 rated Good or Outstanding

% Good or Outstanding

46%

Of all schools within 2 km

−24.5 pp vs nat'l avg

Nearest Outstanding school

Great Denham Primary School

2.4 km from the centroid

Closest schools5 closest within ~5 km of the centroid

Name	Phase	Rating	Distance
Balliol Primary School	Community School	Good	415 m
Greys Education Centre	Academy Alternative Provision Converter	Good	859 m
Springfield Primary School	Academy Converter	Good	917 m
Bedford Road Primary Academy	Academy Sponsor Led	Requires improvement	948 m
Grange Academy	Academy Special Converter	Good	1.3 km

Source: Ofsted school inspection ratings (latest inspection per school), spatially joined to the local area centroid via PostGIS.

Daily life

What's actually around Kempston West & South?

OpenStreetMap counts of the things people use day-to-day — pubs, restaurants, parks, cinemas, supermarkets — within walking distance of the centroid.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL). Counts derived via the Overpass API and refreshed monthly.

Eat & drink

Pubs2≤ 500 m
Bars0≤ 500 m
Restaurants2≤ 500 m
Cafés1≤ 500 m
Cuisine variety2≤ 1 km

Going out

Cinemas0≤ 2 km
Theatres0≤ 2 km
Museums0≤ 2 km
Galleries0≤ 2 km
Nightclubs0≤ 1 km

Practical & family

Supermarkets0≤ 500 m
Libraries0≤ 500 m
Parks3≤ 500 m
Playgrounds2≤ 500 m
Gyms0≤ 1 km

Getting around

Bus stops (close)15≤ 500 m
Bus stops (wider)15≤ 1 km
Rail stations0≤ 500 m
Tube entrances0≤ 500 m
Tram stops0≤ 500 m

Who it suits

Is Kempston West & South right for you?

Six persona fit scores from 0–100 — each built from the metrics that group actually optimises for. Click through to the matching ranked list for the wider region.

Families

68/100

Good fit

Schools rate modestly (46% Good+ within 2 km), owner-occupation is high, and safety scores around the median.

See schools ranking →

Young professionals

67/100

Good fit

Transport scores 75/100 and gigabit broadband reaches 100% of premises.

See transport ranking →

Couples

68/100

Good fit

Liveability 63/100, safety 61/100 and median rent at £1,163/mo combine to make this a comfortable choice for a couple.

See affordability ranking →

Retirees

71/100

Good fit

Healthcare is close (GP ~681 m, hospital ~2.7 km), greenspace is walkable, and 15% of residents are 65+ — an established peer group.

See safety ranking →

Investors / BTL

62/100

Good fit

Gross yield 4.2%, capital growth +3.6% YoY, 14% private-rented stock — strong tenant pool with reasonable demand and supply balance.

See earnings ranking →

Solo renters

53/100

Mixed

Rental stock or transit access fall short — easier neighbourhoods exist for solo renters who need flexibility.

See transport ranking →

How these ratings are built

Each persona has its own scoring model. We pick the metrics that group actually optimises for, then weight and curve them so realistic trade-offs are reflected — a great score in one factor can't fully paper over a poor score in another. Weights sum to 100 before any synergy bonuses.

Families

Families consistently prioritise schooling and a safe, settled neighbourhood, so those two factors carry the most weight and use a convex curve — mediocre values are penalised more than a simple average would suggest. A bonus is applied where good schools and low crime coincide.

Good+ schools within 2 km28%
Crime / safety score22%
Households with children15%
Greenspace proximity15%
Owner-occupation rate10%
Family-age population10%

Young professionals

Young professionals optimise for commute, connectivity and being around peers. Transport gets the largest single weight; broadband uses a concave curve so any decent gigabit coverage counts, and a bonus applies in well-connected, graduate-heavy areas (the classic urban knowledge-hub signal).

Transport / PTAL score27%
18–34 population share22%
Gigabit broadband coverage18%
Degree-educated adults14%
Crime / safety score12%
Private-rental availability7%

Couples

Couples without children weight liveability and day-to-day quality highest. Rent is on a sigmoid curve with a steep cliff between £800 and £1,400/month, reflecting how affordability flips from comfortable to stretched across that range. A bonus applies where the area is both safe and walkable.

Liveability composite25%
Crime / safety score22%
Transport / PTAL score18%
Median rent affordability17%
EPC energy efficiency10%
25–49 population share8%

Retirees

Retirees prioritise healthcare proximity, walkable greenspace and a settled neighbourhood with peers in the same life stage. GP and hospital distance are the largest weights — both use exponential drop-offs because needing care 5 km away is much worse than 1 km away, regardless of how many other amenities are nearby.

GP proximity22%
Hospital proximity18%
Crime / safety score18%
Greenspace proximity14%
Over-65 population share10%
Single-floor accommodation10%
Owner-occupation rate8%

Investors / BTL

Buy-to-let investors weight pure financial signals: yield, capital growth, tenant demand, supply pipeline and area job-growth. Crime and amenities only matter as far as they protect the tenant pool. Yield uses a sigmoid that rewards the realistic 4–7% band; pipeline penalises areas with heavy new-build supply that will pressure future rents.

Gross rental yield32%
House-price growth (HPI YoY)20%
Tenant demand18%
5-year jobs growth12%
Supply pipeline (inverse)10%
Safety score8%

Solo renters

Solo renters and students optimise for flexibility — depth of private-rental supply, peers in the same life stage and frictionless transit. Cost matters but the curve is gentler than for couples (no shared income). A nearby Tube/metro/rail station is heavily weighted because cars are usually off the table for this group.

Private-rental availability22%
Single-person households18%
Transit proximity16%
Median rent affordability14%
18–34 population share12%
Gigabit broadband coverage10%
Crime / safety score8%

Demographics

Who lives here?

Census 2021 demographic profile.

Age profile

Under 1824%18–3421%35–4922%50–6419%65+15%

Tenure

Owned68%Private rent14%Social rent12%

Households

One person23%Couple with children23%Lone parent12%Other8%

Property types

Flat13%Terraced25%Semi-detached49%Detached15%

Ethnic mix and country of birthDiversity index: 46/100

Ethnic group

White71%Asian14%Black7%Mixed5%Other2%

Country of birth

UK-born80%Born outside UK20%

Religion

Christian47%Muslim5%No religion32%Other9%

Education and health26% degree-educated

Degree-educated (16+)25.6%−7.9 pp vs nat'l

No qualifications19.5%

Self-rated good or very good health84.0%

Self-rated bad or very bad health3.5%

Disabled (Equality Act)13.3%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (TS001 / TS003 / TS004 / TS021 / TS030 / TS037 / TS038 / TS044 / TS061 / TS066 / TS067).

Employment

Work and income

primarily residential — most working residents commute out (0.45 jobs per resident); median resident salary £35,987/year; 4.5% on the DWP claimant count.

Median resident salaryCouncil area

£35,987/yr

Workplace earnings of people who live here

Unemployment rate (ILO)

4.5%

ONS ILO method — 66% economically active (Census 2021)

Jobs in the council areaCouncil area

94,000

0.45 jobs per working-age resident

Working status of 16+ residents (Census 2021)ILO unemployment 4.5% · 66% economically active · 34% inactive

ILO unemployment rate: 4.5% — This uses the same methodology as the ONS Labour Force Survey: unemployment is expressed as a share of the economically active population (employed + job-seeking only), not all 16+ residents. Retirees, students, full-time carers and others who are “inactive” are excluded from the denominator, giving a like-for-like figure to the national headline rate.

Employed63%Unemployed3%Inactive34%

Census 2021 TS066. The three bars above share a denominator of all residents aged 16+ and always sum to 100%. "Inactive" covers students, retirees, full-time carers, the long-term sick and anyone not currently seeking work — which is why the raw employed% figure is lower than the LFS employment rate. The ILO unemployment rate above strips out inactive residents and matches the standard definition used in national statistics.

DWP claimant count: 4.5% of working-age (16-64) residents claim Universal Credit while seeking work or Jobseeker's Allowance. This is the live monthly unemployment proxy and is not directly comparable to the Census figures above — it counts a narrower group on a different denominator, but it's the most up-to-date local indicator.

Local job mix (BRES sectors, SIC 2007)Top sector: Retail & hospitality

Health & social

17.0%

Retail & hospitality

24.1%

Education

9.4%

Manufacturing

6.0%

Professional

6.1%

Construction

5.3%

Tech & ICT

2.7%

Finance

1.2%

Net commute flow: +82,383 jobs vs. working-age residents. More jobs than workers — net commuter inflow.

Source: ONS ASHE (resident salary), ONS Census 2021 TS066 (economic activity), ONS BRES NM_189_1 (jobs by sector), DWP claimant count.

Inside this neighbourhood

Sub-areas and postcodes in Kempston West & South

7 sub-areas and 200+ postcodes. Tap any to drill in — hover previews on desktop.

Sub-area	Median rent	Liveability	Safety	Transport
Bedford 018B	£1,163	63	4	79	View →
Bedford 018A	£1,163	69	43	78	View →
Bedford 018E	£1,163	94	83	79	View →
Bedford 018F	£1,163	31	61	14	View →
Bedford 018C	£1,163	61	49	75	View →
Bedford 018H	£1,163	76	61	72	View →
Bedford 018G	£1,163	55	86	33	View →

Postcodes covered

In Bedford 018H

MK42 7AE MK42 7AF MK42 7AG MK42 7AW MK42 7AY MK42 7BU MK42 7BY MK42 7BZ MK42 7EE MK42 7FS MK42 7FT MK42 7FY MK42 7FZ MK42 7GD MK42 7GE MK42 7GF MK42 7GG MK42 7GJ MK42 7GL MK42 7GN MK42 7GP MK42 7GQ MK42 7GR MK42 7GS MK42 7GT MK42 7GU MK42 7GW MK42 7GX MK42 7GY MK42 7GZ MK42 7JY MK42 7JZ MK42 7LZ MK42 7NE MK42 7NF MK42 7NG MK42 7NN MK42 7NQ MK42 7NW MK42 7NY MK42 7PN MK42 7PU MK42 7PW

In Bedford 018E

MK42 7AP MK42 7AZ MK42 7JD MK42 7JH MK42 7JJ MK42 7JL MK42 7JN MK42 7LJ MK42 7NH MK42 7NJ MK42 7NL MK42 7NP MK42 7NR MK42 7NS MK42 7NT MK42 7NU MK42 7NX MK42 7PA MK42 7PS MK42 7RB MK42 7RD MK42 7RE MK42 7RF MK42 7RG MK42 7RH MK42 7RJ MK42 7RL MK42 7RN MK42 7RQ MK42 7RT MK42 7RU

In Bedford 018B

MK42 7BF MK42 7BT MK42 7EH MK42 7EJ MK42 7EL MK42 7EN MK42 7EP MK42 7ER MK42 7EU MK42 7EW MK42 7EX MK42 7EY MK42 7EZ MK42 7HA MK42 7HE MK42 7HN MK42 7HT MK42 7LW MK42 7PT MK42 7QA MK42 7QH MK42 7QJ MK42 7QL MK42 7QP MK42 7QQ MK42 7QR MK42 7QS MK42 7QT

In Bedford 018C

MK42 7BP MK42 7BS MK42 7DD MK42 7DE MK42 7DP MK42 7DR MK42 7DS MK42 7DT MK42 7DU MK42 7DW MK42 7DX MK42 7DY MK42 7DZ MK42 7EA MK42 7EB MK42 7ED MK42 7EG MK42 7ES MK42 7ET MK42 7FA MK42 7HB MK42 7HD MK42 7HF MK42 7HG MK42 7HH MK42 7HJ MK42 7HL MK42 7HP MK42 7HQ MK42 7HR MK42 7HS MK42 7HX MK42 7HY MK42 7PQ MK42 7PY

In Bedford 018F

MK42 7DA MK42 7DB MK42 7DF MK42 7DG MK42 7DH MK42 7DJ MK42 7DL MK42 7DN MK42 7DQ MK42 7FF MK42 7FG MK42 7FH MK42 7FJ MK42 7FL MK42 7FN MK42 7FQ MK42 7FR MK42 7FU MK42 7FW MK42 7FX MK42 7LY MK42 7PG

In Bedford 018G

MK42 7EF MK42 7HU MK42 7JA MK42 7JE MK42 7QB MK42 7QG MK42 7QU MK42 7QX MK42 7RP MK42 7RR

In Bedford 018A

MK42 7JB MK42 7JP MK42 7JR MK42 7JS MK42 7JT MK42 7JU MK42 7JW MK42 7JX MK42 7LA MK42 7LB MK42 7LD MK42 7LH MK42 7LL MK42 7LP MK42 7LR MK42 7LS MK42 7LT MK42 7LU MK42 7LX MK42 7NA MK42 7NB MK42 7ND MK42 7PB MK42 7PD MK42 7PE MK42 7PF MK42 7PH MK42 7PJ MK42 7PL MK42 7PP MK42 7PR

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FAQ

Frequently asked

What's the median rent in Kempston West & South?: The median monthly rent across Kempston West & South is £1,163.
How safe is Kempston West & South?: Kempston West & South has a safety score of — out of 100, where higher is safer. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, inverted.
How well-connected is Kempston West & South?: Transport score: — out of 100. Combines walking time to the nearest rail station, walking time to the nearest metro stop, and public-transport time to clusters with 5,000+ jobs. The nearest rail station is roughly 27 minutes' walk.
What schools are near Kempston West & South?: There are 11 schools within 2 km of Kempston West & South, of which 46% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 2337 m away.
What is the council tax band in Kempston West & South?: The most common council tax band in Kempston West & South is C, with the typical Band D annual charge around £2,220. Council tax is set by Bedford council and applies to every property in the area.
How long is the commute from Kempston West & South to London?: By the fastest direct train, the journey from Kempston West & South to central London is approximately 73 minutes. This is the fastest no-change rail journey from the local area centroid; door-to-door times will vary with walking time to the station.
Is gigabit broadband available in Kempston West & South?: 100% of premises in Kempston West & South are gigabit-capable according to Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Most properties can already buy gigabit packages.
What is the deprivation rank of Kempston West & South?: Kempston West & South sits in IMD decile 7 of 10, where 1 is the most deprived 10% of local areas nationally and 10 is the least deprived. The Index of Multiple Deprivation combines income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers and environment.
What's the tenure mix in Kempston West & South?: 68% of households in Kempston West & South are owner-occupied. The remainder is split between private renting and social housing — see the Demographics section for the full breakdown from Census 2021.
What is the average property price in Kempston West & South?: The average property price across Bedford (the local authority covering Kempston West & South) is approximately £326,121, per HM Land Registry's House Price Index. Per-local area prices vary; see the cost-of-living section for medians by property type.
Is Kempston West & South a commuter town or workplace hub?: Commuter town — most working residents travel out for work. (0.45 jobs per working-age resident. Median resident salary £35,987.)
Which local areas are part of Kempston West & South?: Kempston West & South contains 7 local areas: Bedford 018B, Bedford 018A, Bedford 018E, Bedford 018F, Bedford 018C…

FAQ

Frequently asked about Kempston West & South

Short answers anchored in the data above. Each link goes to the relevant section or methodology page.

What is the average rent in Kempston West & South?: The estimated median monthly rent in Kempston West & South is £1,163. This is derived from the council-area ONS rental figure scaled by the local sale-price gradient — see the Cost section for the breakdown by bedroom count and the affordability ratio against local salaries.
Is Kempston West & South a safe place to live?: Kempston West & South has a safety score of 61/100. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crime per 1,000 residents, inverted so 100 is the safest 1% of England + Wales. The Safety section below shows the breakdown by category.
What schools are near Kempston West & South?: 46% of schools within 2 km of Kempston West & South are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The Schools section lists individual schools with inspection ratings.
How long is the commute from Kempston West & South?: Public-transport commute time from Kempston West & South to central London is approximately 73 minutes. The Transport section has commute times to every major UK city hub.
How is Kempston West & South different from the rest of Bedford?: Kempston West & South contains 7 sub-areas. The "Sub-areas" section below lets you drill into each one individually — they often vary by 20%+ on rent and demographics within the same neighbourhood.
Where does Kempston West & South rank in Bedford?: Kempston West & South scores 63/100 on our composite liveability index. To see how it stacks up against every other neighbourhood in Bedford, see the Cities table on the Bedford page.

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