Dalston East
Hackney 020 · 6 sub-areas · 9,359 residents
Hackney 020 is a densely populated pocket of Hackney, London, home to around 9,400 people and one of the borough's most tenure-mixed neighbourhoods. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £2,430 a month — noticeably above the UK median but broadly in line with inner east London. The standout figure: over half of residents work from home, well above the London norm.
Dalston East is a mid-density neighbourhood of Hackney in the London 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. A high share of adults are degree-educated, which often shows up in the kind of jobs people commute to.
Overview
What's it like to live in Dalston East?
3 parks and 8 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; there's a serious food scene on the doorstep — 58 restaurants and lots of variety within a five-minute walk; 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 sit firmly in the upper bracket nationally, with a typical home letting at around £2,598 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.
Dalston East in Hackney
Living in Dalston East
Hackney 020 sits firmly in inner east London's orbit — close enough to the City that the commute barely registers, yet clearly residential in character. The area carries the layered feel common to this part of Hackney: social housing alongside private renters, long-term locals alongside recent arrivals, all packed into a neighbourhood of under 10,000 people. Greenspace is genuinely accessible — the nearest patch is around 240 metres away, and roughly seven in ten residents can reach usable green space on foot.
On cost, this neighbourhood sits in the upper tier of inner London but isn't at the absolute peak. A one-bedroom runs around £1,950 a month, a two-bedroom about £2,430, and a three-bedroom closer to £2,780. Rents rose around 2.5% over the past year — modest by recent London standards. Council tax (Band D) adds £2,060 a year on top. For buyers, the median sale price is just under £782,000, putting the deposit-saving horizon at nearly a decade on a typical local salary.
The demographic picture here is genuinely mixed. Just under two in five households are in social rented accommodation — a notably high share for an area where the median house price is close to £800,000. Private renters account for around 28% and owner-occupiers just under 32%. Degree-holders make up nearly 60% of residents, pointing to a well-qualified population that largely commutes out or works remotely rather than relying on local employment.
The work-from-home rate — 56% — is the single most striking number in the data. That shapes daily life considerably: the neighbourhood is busy during the day, footfall on local streets is steadier throughout the week, and demand for nearby amenities stays consistent rather than spiking at commuter rush hours. For anyone weighing up a move here, the sub-areas and streets listed below give a more granular sense of where rents and character vary within the neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Hackney 020 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. The transport links to central London are genuinely excellent — under ten minutes to major job hubs — greenspace is close, and the community is diverse and well-educated. The trade-off is a high crime rate and rents that push well above what the median local salary can comfortably cover. Most people who choose it value the central access over the cost pressure.
- What is the rent in Hackney 020?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,950 a month, a two-bedroom about £2,430, and a three-bedroom around £2,780. Rents rose roughly 2.5% over the past year. These are estimates based on local sale prices scaled from borough-level official data, so treat them as a guide rather than a guarantee.
- Is Hackney 020 safe?
- Crime here runs at around 190 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — more than twice the UK national rate. The area falls in the more deprived third of English neighbourhoods, which correlates with higher crime. It's not the highest in London, but it's worth checking the Met Police's street-level crime data for specific streets before committing to a move.
- What's the commute from Hackney 020 to central London?
- Very short. The nearest mainline rail station is around 410 metres away — a five-minute walk — and the public transport journey time to the nearest major London job hub is just over five minutes. For anyone who does go into the office, this is one of the better-connected spots in inner east London.
- Who lives in Hackney 020?
- A genuinely mixed population. About a third of residents are aged 18–34, the majority hold degrees, and almost 60% work from home. Tenure is split across social renting (38%), private renting (28%), and owner-occupation (32%) — an unusual combination at this price point. Around 37% of residents were born outside the UK.
- What schools are near Hackney 020?
- There are 344 schools within 2km, so choice isn't lacking. Around 46% of those nearby are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 380 metres away. It's worth checking individual Ofsted reports rather than relying on the area average.
- How affordable is buying a home in Hackney 020?
- Challenging. The median sale price is just under £782,000, and at typical local salaries it takes close to ten years to save a deposit. The rent-to-take-home ratio exceeds 100%, meaning the median rent technically outstrips median net pay — most renters here are either on dual incomes or supplementing from savings or higher earnings.