Metchley
Birmingham 087 · 4 sub-areas · 7,198 residents
Birmingham 087 is a densely populated neighbourhood within Birmingham, home to around 7,200 people and sitting notably close to the city centre — just 12 minutes away by public transport. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for around £990 a month, well under the UK median for a 2-bed, though rents have been climbing at around 3.5% a year. The area's high degree-holder share and mixed tenure profile make it demographically distinct from much of the wider city.
Metchley is a commuter neighbourhood within Birmingham — train into Birmingham runs in around 12 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. The population skews young, with a high concentration of 18- to 34-year-olds; 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 Metchley?
2 parks and 1 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; 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 £1,086 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.
Metchley in Birmingham
Living in Metchley
This part of Birmingham punches above its weight for connectivity. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1 km away — about a 12-minute walk — and the city centre is reachable in under 15 minutes by public transport. That kind of access from a neighbourhood with rents well below the UK median is genuinely unusual, and it helps explain why over a third of residents work from home while another third still drive to work.
On cost, this neighbourhood sits at the more affordable end of Birmingham's rental market. A two-bedroom flat runs around £990 a month — noticeably below the UK national median of around £1,200 for a 2-bed. The council tax (Band D) comes to roughly £2,360 a year, which is in line with the wider Birmingham rate. Rents have been rising — up around 3.5% in the past year — so the affordability window may be narrowing, but for now this remains a relatively accessible part of the city.
The people who live here skew young. Over a third of residents are aged 18 to 34, which is markedly higher than Birmingham as a whole. Single-person households account for nearly two in five homes. Degree holders make up 46% of the adult population — a well-above-average share for Birmingham — yet the neighbourhood also carries a significant social housing stock, with nearly 30% of homes in the social rented sector. That breadth of tenure, side by side, is one of the more interesting things about this area.
Deprivation is a real factor here. An IMD decile of 3.6 puts this neighbourhood in the lower third nationally, and an unemployment claimant rate of just over 10% is high by any measure. That context matters if you're weighing up the neighbourhood for schools and services. The greenspace picture is better than the deprivation score might suggest — the nearest green space is under 300 metres away, and over half of residents live within easy walking distance of it. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets within the neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Birmingham 087 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. The transport links are strong — city centre in under 15 minutes — and rents are below the UK median. The trade-off is a crime rate well above the national average and a below-average share of highly rated schools nearby. If you're young, budget-conscious, and city-focused, it has real appeal; families should weigh the school and safety picture carefully.
- What is the rent in this part of Birmingham?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £820 a month, a two-bedroom roughly £990, and a three-bedroom about £1,120. All three are below the UK national median for their bedroom size. Rents rose around 3.5% in the past year, so prices are moving upward but remain competitive within Birmingham.
- Is Birmingham 087 safe?
- The crime rate here is high — around 193 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, more than double the UK national rate of roughly 80. It's one of the more elevated crime rates within Birmingham. If safety is a top priority, check street-level data through the police.uk crime map before committing.
- What's the commute from here to Birmingham city centre?
- Around 12 minutes by public transport, making it one of the quicker neighbourhood-to-centre commutes in the city. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1 km away — about a 12-minute walk. There's no tram or metro service in this area.
- Who lives in this part of Birmingham?
- Predominantly young — over 36% of residents are aged 18 to 34. Single-person households make up nearly two in five homes. Despite a high degree-holder share of 46%, nearly 30% of homes are social rented, sitting alongside a private rented sector of similar scale. It's a genuinely mixed community by tenure and background.
- What schools are near this neighbourhood?
- There are 74 schools within 2 km, so choice isn't lacking in numbers. However, only around 34% of those schools within typical catchment distance are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 3.3 km away. Check current Ofsted reports before relying on these figures.
- How affordable is buying a home in this part of Birmingham?
- The median house price is just under £295,000. On a typical local resident salary, it takes an estimated 4.9 years to save a deposit — which is more manageable than many UK cities but still a significant commitment. The area's rent-to-take-home ratio of around 56% is high, which can make saving while renting challenging.