Hornchurch
Havering 020 · 5 sub-areas · 8,123 residents
Havering 020 is a residential part of the London Borough of Havering, home to around 8,100 people and sitting firmly in commuter-belt territory. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,540 a month — notably below what you'd pay closer to central London — and the rail commute into the city takes under 15 minutes. Two in three residents own their home, which says a lot about who settles here.
Hornchurch is a commuter neighbourhood within Havering — train into London runs in around 10 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it.
Overview
What's it like to live in Hornchurch?
The area is unusually green for its density — 5 parks sit within five minutes' walk of the centroid; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 14 restaurants and 3 pubs in five minutes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; 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 £1,566 a month for a typical home; 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.
Hornchurch in Havering
Living in Hornchurch
This part of Havering has the feel of settled suburban London — wide residential streets, a high rate of owner-occupation, and a demographic mix that skews slightly older than the city average. It's not a neighbourhood of transient renters; most people here have put down roots, and that shapes everything from the pace of the streets to the local amenities.
On cost, it sits in a genuinely different bracket from inner London. A two-bedroom home runs around £1,540 a month, well below comparable-sized properties in inner east or central London zones. For renters making the calculation between ownership and renting, it's worth noting that the median sale price sits around £450,000 — and at current rent levels, you'd save up a deposit in roughly five and a half years, which is middle-of-the-road for Greater London.
The population skews towards the older end. Over a fifth of residents are 65 or older, and the 50–64 bracket accounts for another substantial share. Younger adults in the 18–34 range are present but not dominant — around one in five residents. Families with children make up about 18% of households, and the neighbourhood's relatively low ethnic diversity index of 26.6 reflects a predominantly UK-born population, with around 86% born in the UK.
Practically speaking, the nearest rail station is under 900 metres away — roughly an 11-minute walk — and the public transport journey to a major employment hub comes in at under 15 minutes, making this a genuinely functional commuter location without the premium price tag of inner zones. Full gigabit broadband is available across the entire area, which matters increasingly for the more than a third of residents who work from home. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Havering 020 a nice place to live?
- It depends what you're after. If you want settled suburban London with short rail access to the city, it works well — two in three residents own their home, greenspace is within 263 metres on average, and the commute to a major employment hub is under 15 minutes. It's quieter and more residential than inner London, with an older demographic profile.
- What is the rent in Havering 020?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £1,220 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,540, and a three-bedroom around £1,850. Rents rose roughly 6% over the past year. These are estimates scaled from borough-level data using local sale prices — the official figures only go down to council level.
- Is Havering 020 safe?
- The recorded crime rate is around 118 per 1,000 residents annually — above the UK average of roughly 80, but consistent with many parts of Greater London. The area sits in the less-deprived half of English neighbourhoods, and its high owner-occupation and settled population profile are generally associated with lower serious crime.
- What's the commute from Havering 020 to central London?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 870 metres away — roughly an 11-minute walk — and the public transport journey to a major London employment hub takes under 15 minutes. It's one of the more practical commuter locations in the borough, though over a third of residents now work from home.
- Who lives in Havering 020?
- Mostly settled, older residents — over 21% are 65 or older, and two in three households own their home. It's not a young-renter neighbourhood. Around 86% of residents were born in the UK, and ethnic diversity is lower than most of Greater London. Single-person households make up about 32% of the total.
- What schools are near Havering 020?
- There are 96 schools within 2km of typical residents, but only around 24% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 1,740 metres away. It's worth checking individual catchment areas carefully using the DfE's Find a School tool.
- How does Havering 020 compare to other parts of Havering for renters?
- Havering 020 is a mid-range option within the borough — median rents around £1,540 for a two-bedroom, a short rail connection to London, and a predominantly owner-occupied neighbourhood. It offers more stability and less turnover than inner-borough rental hotspots, but school quality nearby is lower than the national benchmark.