Barbourne & Rainbow Hill
Worcester 004 · 5 sub-areas · 8,287 residents
Worcester 004 is a residential stretch of Worcester, home to around 8,300 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £888 a month — noticeably below the UK national median for a 2-bed — and nearly seven in ten households own their home outright or with a mortgage, giving this part of the city a settled, owner-occupied feel.
Barbourne & Rainbow Hill is a mid-density neighbourhood of Worcester in the West Midlands 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.
Overview
What's it like to live in Barbourne & Rainbow Hill?
2 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; 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 £955 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.
Barbourne & Rainbow Hill in Worcester
Living in Barbourne & Rainbow Hill
Worcester 004 sits within the wider city of Worcester and has a distinctly suburban character. Ownership rates are high — close to 70% of households own their home — which gives the streets a quieter, more permanent feel than many city neighbourhoods where private renting dominates. It's not a transient area; most people who move here tend to stay.
Rents are genuinely competitive. A two-bedroom property runs around £888 a month, well under the UK national median for that size, and even a three-bedroom home averages just over £1,060. The trade-off is that the rent-to-take-home ratio still sits at around 46%, which reflects local salaries rather than high rents — median resident earnings are roughly £33,000 a year, so housing costs take a meaningful share of income even at these prices.
The population skews broadly even across age groups, with no single bracket dominating. Around one in five residents is under 18, and the 65-plus group makes up nearly 19% — both signs of a neighbourhood with deep roots and family stability rather than a constant churn of young professionals. Just under a third of households are single-person, which is fairly typical for a mixed suburban area.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.4 km away — about a 17-minute walk — giving access to Birmingham in just under an hour by public transport. Most residents drive: over half commute by car, and only around 2% use public transport for the journey to work. Nearly 29% work from home, well above the national average, which shapes the rhythm of the area during weekdays. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on specific pockets within Worcester 004.
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Frequently asked
- Is Worcester 004 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, predominantly owner-occupied part of Worcester with a suburban feel. Rents are affordable by national standards, greenspace is close by, and the area sits in the less deprived half of English neighbourhoods. The trade-off is that school quality within catchment distance is below the national average, and car dependency is high.
- What is the rent in Worcester 004?
- A one-bedroom property averages around £696 a month, a two-bedroom around £888, and a three-bedroom just over £1,060. These are estimates based on city-level data scaled using local sale prices. Rents rose approximately 4.8% year-on-year, in line with the broader market.
- Is Worcester 004 safe?
- The crime rate sits at around 82.6 per 1,000 residents a year, marginally above the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area falls in the less deprived 40% of English neighbourhoods, which generally correlates with lower serious crime. It's broadly average rather than a cause for concern.
- What's the commute from Worcester 004 to Birmingham?
- By public transport, Birmingham is roughly 57 minutes away. Most residents drive rather than use the train — only around 2% commute by public transport — but the nearest mainline station is about a 17-minute walk if you'd rather leave the car at home.
- Who lives in Worcester 004?
- A broad mix of age groups with no single bracket dominating — roughly even splits across under-18s, 18–34s, 35–49s, 50–64s and over-65s. Around 70% of households own their home, and nearly 29% of residents work from home, giving the area a quieter weekday atmosphere than more renter-heavy parts of the city.
- What schools are near Worcester 004?
- There are 81 schools within typical catchment distance, though only around 43% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national share of approximately 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 1,268 metres away, roughly a 16-minute walk. It's worth checking individual school ratings rather than relying on the area average.
- How far is Worcester 004 from London?
- The rail journey to London takes around 141 minutes by public transport. Worcester isn't a realistic London commuter base for daily travel, but it's manageable for occasional trips. Birmingham is a far more practical hub at roughly 57 minutes by rail.