Swallownest & Wales
Rotherham 031 · 4 sub-areas · 7,499 residents
Rotherham 031 is a predominantly owner-occupied area of Rotherham, home to around 7,500 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £608 a month — well below the UK median and a fraction of what you'd pay in most southern cities. Nearly four in five households own their home, which sets this neighbourhood apart from much of the rental market around it.
Swallownest & Wales is a commuter neighbourhood within Rotherham — train into Sheffield runs in around 44 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. 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 Swallownest & Wales?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £678 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.
Swallownest & Wales in Rotherham
Living in Swallownest & Wales
This part of Rotherham has a settled, residential feel that's noticeably different from more transient urban neighbourhoods. Ownership rates are high — around 79% of households own their home — and the age spread is unusually even, with roughly a fifth of residents in each major age bracket from under-18 through to 65-plus. That kind of demographic balance tends to mean stable communities rather than rapid turnover.
Rents here sit comfortably below both the regional and national baselines. At around £608 a month for a two-bedroom home, you're paying well under half what the same property would cost in central London, and meaningfully less than the UK median of around £1,200. For buyers, the median sale price is approximately £228,000, and the deposit savings period — around 3.8 years — is among the more achievable figures in England.
Most residents drive to work: around 64% commute by car, and just 3% travel by public transport. That's a telling figure — this is a car-dependent neighbourhood, and planning your life without one would require some adjustment. Around a quarter of residents work from home, which is a meaningful share and softens the commute picture for those with hybrid roles. The nearest major employment hub is roughly 42 minutes away.
The area scores at IMD decile 6.6 — comfortably above the most deprived half of neighbourhoods in England. Greenspace is close: around 66% of residents are within a walkable distance of public green space, with the nearest accessible greenspace just 272 metres away on average. For families weighing up a quieter, affordable corner of South Yorkshire, that combination of low rents, high ownership and accessible outdoors carries real weight. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
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Frequently asked
- Is Rotherham 031 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, affordable residential area with high homeownership and good access to green space. Around 66% of residents are within walking distance of public greenspace, and the crime rate sits below the national average. The trade-off is heavy car dependency and a mixed picture on nearby school quality.
- What is the rent in Rotherham 031?
- A two-bedroom home runs around £608 a month, a one-bedroom around £482, and a three-bedroom around £734. Rents rose about 5% over the past year. These figures are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices — official neighbourhood-level rent data isn't published separately.
- Is Rotherham 031 safe?
- The crime rate here is around 69 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, which is below the UK national rate of roughly 80. The area sits at IMD deprivation decile 6.6, placing it in the less-deprived half of England. That said, rates vary street by street, so it's worth checking specific postcodes you're considering.
- What's the commute from Rotherham 031 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest major employment hub is roughly 42 minutes away. By public transport, Manchester is around 94 minutes and Birmingham around 103 minutes. Most residents drive — 64% commute by car — and only 3% use public transport, so planning around rail or bus requires some flexibility.
- Who lives in Rotherham 031?
- Around 7,500 people, with an unusually even spread across age groups — roughly a fifth in each band from children through to over-65s. Around 79% own their home, well above the national average. It's a predominantly UK-born community with low residential turnover and a mix of families and older couples.
- What schools are near Rotherham 031?
- There are 28 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 43% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 2.5 km away. Check Ofsted's website directly for current ratings and catchment boundaries for specific schools.
- What are house prices like in Rotherham 031?
- The median sale price is approximately £228,000. At median local salaries, you'd need around 3.8 years of savings to build a typical deposit — one of the more achievable timelines in England and well below what buyers face in southern cities.