Hartcliffe
Bristol 053 · 4 sub-areas · 8,639 residents
Bristol 053 is a predominantly residential neighbourhood within Bristol, home to around 8,600 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,550 a month — noticeably above the UK national median for a 2-bed, though broadly in line with Bristol's inner-city market. The area stands out for its unusually high social housing concentration, with over half of households in social tenure.
Hartcliffe is a green, lower-density part of Bristol — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters. The demographic profile leans family-aged, with a clear share of households with school-age children.
Overview
What's it like to live in Hartcliffe?
3 parks and 2 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; 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; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents sit firmly in the upper bracket nationally, with a typical home letting at around £1,888 a month; 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.
Hartcliffe in Bristol
Living in Hartcliffe
Bristol 053 sits firmly in the more affordable, community-rooted side of Bristol's housing map. It's not the postcard Bristol of Georgian terraces and harbour cafés — it's a working neighbourhood with a dense residential feel, where more than half of households rent from a social landlord. That's a rare characteristic by Bristol's standards and shapes the area's day-to-day character considerably.
Rents are moderate by Bristol's inner-city norms. A two-bedroom home comes in around £1,550 a month, and a one-bedroom at roughly £1,230. Those figures rose by about 7.6% in the past year, which tracks the wider Bristol market's upward pressure but isn't an outlier. The cost of buying is relatively accessible too — the median sale price sits around £238,000, and you'd need roughly three and a half years of savings to get to a deposit, which is realistic compared to most of the city.
The demographic picture is notably family-oriented. Around 30% of residents are under 18 — a high share for an inner-city neighbourhood — and single-person households account for just under a third of homes. The degree-qualification rate is low at around 15%, which is well below Bristol's city-wide average and tells you something about the socioeconomic mix. The unemployment claimant rate of 3.7% is worth watching, and the area ranks in the bottom tenth nationally on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, meaning it faces some of the sharper end of material disadvantage in England.
The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 3.3 km away — about a 40-minute walk, or a short bus or car journey. Most residents drive: nearly 60% commute by car, and just over 11% use public transport. Greenspace is reasonably accessible, with over half of residents within walking distance of green areas and the typical nearest greenspace under 300 metres away. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Bristol 053 a nice place to live?
- It depends on what you're looking for. It's an unpretentious, community-rooted neighbourhood with affordable rents by Bristol standards and good greenspace access. The trade-off is a high crime rate and a school catchment that's below par. It suits families and residents in social housing well, but it's not the Bristol that makes the lifestyle magazines.
- What is the rent in Bristol 053?
- A one-bedroom typically runs around £1,230 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,550, and a three-bedroom roughly £1,760. Rents rose about 7.6% over the past year. Note these are estimates scaled from Bristol-wide data using local sale prices, as official rent data doesn't go below council level.
- Is Bristol 053 safe?
- Crime here is significantly higher than the UK average — around 285 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, versus a national figure of roughly 80. The area's deprivation ranking (bottom 10% nationally) is a contributing factor. It's worth checking street-level crime data for specific roads if safety is a key concern.
- What's the commute from Bristol 053 to Bristol city centre?
- Most residents drive — nearly 60% commute by car. The nearest mainline rail station is around 3.3 km away, so public transport requires a bus or short drive to connect. Just over 11% of residents use public transport for their commute, and around 14% work from home.
- Who lives in Bristol 053?
- Predominantly families — around 30% of residents are under 18, which is high for an urban neighbourhood. Over half of households are in social housing. The area is mostly UK-born and has a lower share of degree-qualified residents than Bristol's city-wide average, reflecting a solidly working-class demographic profile.
- What schools are near Bristol 053?
- There are 48 schools within 2 km, but only around 37% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of about 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is roughly 4.5 km away. Families should research individual schools carefully rather than relying on the overall figures.
- How does Bristol 053 compare to other Bristol neighbourhoods?
- It's more affordable than Bristol's central and harbourside areas, with a much higher social housing concentration than most of the city. Rents are moderate, greenspace is accessible, and broadband is excellent. The main drawbacks — crime rate and school quality — are more pronounced here than in Bristol's leafier inner suburbs.