Berkhamsted West
Dacorum 012 · 4 sub-areas · 6,712 residents
Dacorum 012 is a predominantly owner-occupied corner of Dacorum in the East of England, home to around 6,700 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,360 a month — above the national median for a 2-bed but reflecting a area where more than seven in ten households own their home. With over half of residents working from home and strong gigabit broadband coverage, it's shaped more around settled family life than commuter churn.
Berkhamsted West is a mid-density neighbourhood of Dacorum in the East of England 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. The demographic profile leans family-aged, with a clear share of households with school-age children; most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Berkhamsted West?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,577 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Berkhamsted West in Dacorum
Living in Berkhamsted West
Dacorum 012 feels more like a settled residential area than a typical rental market. Owner-occupation sits at nearly 71%, which is well above most urban neighbourhoods — this is somewhere people have chosen to put down roots, and that shapes everything from the pace of daily life to the schools and streets. Social housing accounts for around one in five households, a meaningful share that sits alongside the owner-occupier majority.
The cost picture reflects the area's character. Median monthly rent comes in at around £1,580, and a 2-bed runs roughly £1,360 — noticeably above the UK-wide median of around £1,200 for that size. Buying is the bigger story: the median sale price is just over £740,000, putting home ownership well out of reach for most without significant equity, and the deposit alone would take the typical buyer around ten years to save on local wages.
Around 26% of residents are under 18 — a notably high share that points to a lot of families here. The 35–49 age group is also strong at nearly 23%. The degree-educated proportion is high at nearly 53%, yet median resident earnings come in at around £36,500 a year. That gap between qualifications and local wages explains the working-from-home picture: over half of residents work from home, suggesting many are employed by companies based elsewhere — and earning salaries that reflect those external labour markets rather than what local employers pay.
Greenspace is accessible: the nearest open space is under 500 metres away on average, and around 36% of the area falls within walkable distance of green space. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.4 km away — about an 18-minute walk. Crime sits at around 46 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, well below the national average of around 80, making this one of the quieter parts of the country on that measure. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how the neighbourhood breaks down.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Dacorum 012 a nice place to live?
- For families and established households, it's a strong option. Crime is well below the national average, greenspace is close by, over half of residents work from home, and broadband infrastructure is excellent. The trade-off is that renting is relatively expensive and nearby school Ofsted ratings are patchy, so it suits buyers and remote workers more than young renters.
- What is the rent in Dacorum 012?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,090 a month, a two-bed roughly £1,360, and a three-bed about £1,640. Rents rose around 3.8% over the past year. These are estimates scaled from council-level ONS data using local sale prices — the area's thin private rental market means there isn't a large pool of comparable lets to draw on.
- Is Dacorum 012 safe?
- Yes, by national standards. The crime rate is around 46 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — roughly half the UK average of around 80. It's one of the quieter areas in the East of England on this measure, and the relatively low deprivation score (IMD decile 8 out of 10) supports that picture.
- What's the commute from Dacorum 012 to London?
- By public transport, London is around 49 minutes away. The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.4 km from typical addresses — an 18-minute walk. That said, most residents here don't commute at all: over half work from home, and the broadband infrastructure (94% gigabit coverage) makes that practical.
- Who lives in Dacorum 012?
- Mainly families and long-settled owner-occupiers. Nearly a third of households are couples with children, over a quarter of residents are under 18, and 71% of homes are owner-occupied. The resident base is well-qualified — nearly 53% hold a degree — and skews toward people in their 30s and 40s with established careers.
- What schools are near Dacorum 012?
- There are 30 schools within 2km of typical addresses, but only around 16% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national share of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is just over 5km away. Families should check Dacorum Borough Council's admissions guidance carefully to understand which schools fall within their specific catchment.
- Is Dacorum 012 good for working from home?
- It's one of the better-set-up areas in England for it. Over 54% of residents already work from home — the highest-use pattern by some distance compared to public transport or driving. Gigabit broadband reaches nearly 94% of premises, and no properties fall below the minimum broadband standard.