Downend North
South Gloucestershire 020 · 4 sub-areas · 6,277 residents
South Gloucestershire 020 is a predominantly owner-occupied corner of South Gloucestershire, home to around 6,300 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,256 a month — broadly in line with the wider South Gloucestershire market — and nine in ten residents own their home outright, making this one of the most settled, established communities in the region.
Downend North is a green, lower-density part of South Gloucestershire — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters. 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 Downend North?
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 £1,445 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.
Downend North in South Gloucestershire
Living in Downend North
This part of South Gloucestershire has a distinctly suburban, settled feel. The overwhelming majority of residents own their homes — around 90% — which shapes the character of the area: quiet streets, established households, and relatively low turnover. It's not an area where you'll find a constant churn of new arrivals; people tend to stay.
On rent, the neighbourhood sits roughly where you'd expect for South Gloucestershire. A one-bedroom costs around £985 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,256, and a three-bedroom around £1,532. Those figures aren't cheap by national standards — a two-bed is slightly above the UK median — but they're well below what you'd pay for comparable space in central Bristol or Bath. Council tax (Band D) runs to about £2,551 a year, which is worth factoring into your monthly budget.
The demographic picture here skews older and family-oriented. Around 22% of residents are under 18 — higher than most urban areas — and nearly 29% of households are couples with children. One in five residents is 65 or older. That profile tends to mean good local schools matter a great deal, and with 58 schools within typical catchment distance, there's decent choice. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is under 500 metres away.
The big practical caveat is transport. Public transit use is extremely low — just over 2% of residents commute by it — and the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 2.9 km away, around a 36-minute walk. Almost half the population works from home, which explains a lot. If you need to commute to Birmingham or London by rail, you're looking at well over 100 minutes each way. This is, in practical terms, car-dependent territory. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is South Gloucestershire 020 a nice place to live?
- For the right person, yes — it's exceptionally safe, very well-connected digitally, and has a quiet, settled character. Nine in ten residents own their homes, which reflects how established the community is. The trade-off is that it's heavily car-dependent and the Ofsted picture for local schools is mixed compared to the national average.
- What is the rent in South Gloucestershire 020?
- A one-bedroom typically runs around £985 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,256, and a three-bedroom around £1,532. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose around 4.2% in the past year, so expect the market to keep ticking upward.
- Is South Gloucestershire 020 safe?
- Very. The crime rate is around 22.7 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — well below the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area sits in the least deprived decile nationally, and low deprivation and low crime tend to go hand in hand here.
- What's the commute from South Gloucestershire 020 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest major employment hub is around 44 minutes away. Longer rail commutes to Birmingham or London take around 104 and 108 minutes respectively by public transport. The nearest mainline station is roughly 2.9 km away. Most residents drive or work from home — public transport use is around 2%.
- Who lives in South Gloucestershire 020?
- Predominantly owner-occupiers — around 90% of households own their home. The population skews older and family-oriented: over 22% are 65 or above, and nearly 29% of households are couples with children. Around 41% of residents work from home, suggesting a professional, degree-educated base.
- What schools are near South Gloucestershire 020?
- There are 58 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 36% are rated Good or Outstanding within 2 km, which is below the national average of roughly 89% — though the nearest Outstanding-rated school is under 420 metres away. Check current Ofsted ratings directly, as these change.
- How affordable is South Gloucestershire 020 for renters?
- It's stretched. The median local salary is around £35,000 a year, but rent absorbs roughly 62% of take-home pay at current levels. Single renters on average wages will find budgets tight. It's more viable as a shared rental or for households with two incomes.