MK42 postcode district: Kempston and around

MK42 is a postcode district in England, with 1,288 postcodes in use in 6 sectors. It has postcodes in Kempston, Bedford, Shortstown and 1 more place. It is split between 2 councils: Bedford (1,278 postcodes) and Central Bedfordshire (10).

Postcodes in use: 1,288
Sectors: 6
Councils: 2 councils
Places: 4 places

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026. See all our data sources

Every postcode in MK42, and which are new since 2020

New since 2020: 111
In use before 2020: 1,177
Outline: where 5 or more new postcodes since 2020 lie together

Of the 1,288 postcodes in MK42 that ONS places, 111 are new since 2020 and 1,177 were in use before 2020.

Each mark is a postcode's centre point as ONS gives it, not a building. Press one to see its postcode and open its page. New since 2020 means it came into use in January 2020 or later. A dashed outline shows where 5 or more lie within 150 metres of each other. It is not a boundary, and no boundary is drawn. Where marks overlap, the one first in the key is drawn; the counts include every postcode.

The middle of its postcodes: latitude 52.1161, longitude -0.4711. Open this area on OpenStreetMap

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026, the centre point of each postcode; when each came into use: the same directory; roads, rivers and built-up areas: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Drawn by us. Street map: Ordnance Survey, OS Open Zoomstack, Open Government Licence v3.0, drawn with MapLibre. How we use them

The 5 newest postcodes

MK42 0BLJuly 2026 MK42 0EFJuly 2026 MK42 6HAJuly 2026 MK42 5BZJune 2026 MK42 6HGJune 2026

Where the new postcodes lie together

28 new postcodes since 2020, outlined on the map. MK42 6GL, is the newest of them.
23 new postcodes since 2020, outlined on the map. MK42 0BL, is the newest of them.
18 new postcodes since 2020, outlined on the map. MK42 6HA, is the newest of them.
13 new postcodes since 2020, outlined on the map. MK42 0PF, is the newest of them.
6 new postcodes since 2020, outlined on the map. MK42 0WJ, is the newest of them.

What broadband can you get in MK42?

Ofcom reports on 1,230 of the 1,288 postcodes in MK42. At 1,051 of them every home and business can get gigabit broadband.

Postcodes where every home can get gigabit1,051 of 1,230

Postcodes where every home can get superfast1,188 of 1,230

Ofcom gives each postcode's share of homes and businesses, not how many there are, so these count postcodes. Each postcode page has its own figures. A provider's checker answers for one address.

Check one address on Ofcom's checker

Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations, Spring 2026, data for January 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it

Is MK42 at risk of flooding?

191 of the 1,288 postcodes in MK42 have a home or business in an area at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, the Environment Agency says. At those, it puts 274 homes and businesses in an area at high or medium risk.

Homes and businesses in an area at risk, at 191 of 1,288 postcodes High: 49Medium: 225Low: 2,273Very low: 267

High: 3.3% or more a year (1 in 30). Medium: 1% to 3.3% a year. Low: 0.1% to 1% a year. Very low: under 0.1% a year (1 in 1,000). Each band is the chance of flooding in any one year.

Homes and businesses in an area at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, as the Environment Agency counts them, added up over the postcodes. It is for the land, not each building, and leaves out surface water, groundwater and sewers. Each postcode page has its own figures and its flood warning areas.

Source: Environment Agency, Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (postcodes in areas at risk), published 6 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it

What do homes sell for in MK42?

Homes in MK42 sold for a typical £317,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, across 479 sales, down 0.9% on the 12 months before, HM Land Registry's figures show.

£317,000 typical price, the 12 months to August 2026

£320,000 12 months to August 2025

▼ down 0.9% on the 12 months before

Detached £440,000 113 sales
Semi-detached £323,000 153 sales
Terraced £281,000 138 sales
Flat or maisonette £185,000 75 sales

Each bar is that kind's typical price, against the most expensive kind here.

Standard sales of homes at market value. A typical price is the median, the middle sale. Sales take weeks to be registered, so the last month or two are incomplete. Each postcode page gives the figure for its own postcode sector.

Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, files dated 28 September 2026. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it