Bedford
Bedford is covered by postcode districts MK40, MK41, MK42, MK43, MK44 and MK45. It is in the Bedford council area, England.
Every postcode in Bedford, by flood risk
- A home or business at high risk: 11
- At medium risk at worst: 17
- At low risk at worst: 136
- At very low risk only: 15
- Not on the at-risk list: 2,108
- Outline: where 5 or more postcodes at high or medium risk lie together
Of the 2,287 postcodes in Bedford that ONS places, 11 have a home or business at high risk, 17 are at medium risk at worst, 136 are at low risk at worst, 15 are at very low risk only and 2,108 are not on the Environment Agency's at-risk list.
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. 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 52.1405, longitude -0.4586. 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; flood risk: Environment Agency, published 6 July 2026; 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 postcodes at high risk
Beside each: how many of its homes and businesses the Environment Agency puts at that risk.
Where the postcodes at high or medium risk lie together
- 9 postcodes at high or medium risk, outlined on the map. MK42 0JY, is the one with most homes and businesses at high risk.
What is it like to live in Bedford?
Homes sold for a typical £327,500 in the 12 months to August 2026, up 1.7% on the 12 months before. At 1,799 of the 2,175 postcodes Ofcom reports on, every home and business can get gigabit broadband. The Environment Agency counts 275 homes and businesses at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, at 179 of its 2,287 postcodes. It has 5 primary schools, 1 secondary school and 3 all-through schools at its postcodes, or more. At least 5 GP practices are at its postcodes. The nearest railway station is Bedford St Johns, 1.4 km from the middle of its postcodes in a straight line.
We don't rate places; here are the figures so you can judge.
Source: HM Land Registry, Ofcom, the Environment Agency, the Department for Education, NHS England and the Department for Transport, as each section of this page says. See all our data sources
What do homes cost in Bedford?
Homes in Bedford sold for a typical £327,500 in the 12 months to August 2026, across 797 sales, up 1.7% on the 12 months before, HM Land Registry's figures show.
- 12 months to August 2025
- £322,000
- 12 months to August 2026
- £327,500
▲ up 1.7% on the 12 months before
Across the whole MK41 district, Bedford's main postcode district: a typical £350,000.
Sales at the postcodes ONS places in Bedford: 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
Are new homes being built in Bedford?
82 of the 2,287 postcodes now in use in Bedford came into use in January 2020 or later, ONS says. In the 12 months to August 2025, 22 of the 1,051 homes sold in Bedford were newly built (2%), HM Land Registry's records show; across the MK41 district, 0%.
The newest postcodes
A new postcode is often a new street or estate, but Royal Mail also makes new postcodes when it reorganises old ones, so not every one means new homes. Only postcodes still in use are counted.
New homes among the homes sold
| Period | In Bedford | Across the MK41 district |
|---|---|---|
| The 12 months to August 2026 | 2 of 797 (Under 1%) | 0 of 407 (0%) |
| The 12 months to August 2025 | 22 of 1,051 (2%) | 0 of 543 (0%) |
Standard sales of homes at market value that HM Land Registry marks as newly built. New homes take longer to be registered than other sales, so the latest 12 months count fewer of them than were sold. A share is given from 5 sales or more.
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026; HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, files dated 28 September 2026. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2021, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
What broadband can you get in Bedford?
Ofcom reports on 2,175 of the 2,287 postcodes in Bedford. At 1,799 of them every home and business can get gigabit broadband.
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 checkerSource: Ofcom, Connected Nations, Spring 2026, data for January 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Is Bedford at risk of flooding?
179 of the 2,287 postcodes in Bedford 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 275 homes and businesses in an area at high or medium risk.
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
Which schools are in Bedford?
The open schools at the postcodes in Bedford (the first 8 primaries by distance from its middle). A school for ages 4 to 18 is listed under both. Distances are straight lines from the middle of its postcodes. Distance is not a catchment: each council sets its own admission rules.
Primary
- Bedford School350 m 994 pupils, 1,200 places
- Castle Newnham School400 m 624 pupils, 1,380 places
- Bedford Girls' School850 m 843 pupils, 1,202 places
- St John Rigby Catholic Primary School900 m 268 pupils, 420 places
- Priory Primary School1.1 km 214 pupils, 206 places
- Livingstone Primary School1.2 km 457 pupils, 444 places
- Polam School1.2 km 99 pupils, 207 places
- Hazeldene School1.4 km 443 pupils, 450 places
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools, read 17 October 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. Each school opens its own record there. How we use it
How far is the station from Bedford?
The nearest railway station to the centre point of the postcodes in Bedford is Bedford St Johns Rail Station, 1.4 km away in a straight line.
- Bedford St Johns Rail Station Railway station 1.4 kmCycle
- Bedford Rail Station Railway station 1.5 kmCycle
- Kempston Hardwick Rail Station Railway station 6.2 kmDrive
Straight-line distances from the centre point, not routes. Walk: under 1.2 km. Cycle: 1.2 to 5 km. Drive: further.
Straight-line distances from the middle of the postcodes, not routes. Each postcode page lists its own nearest stations and bus stops. The Department for Transport's register does not say how often services run.
Source: Department for Transport, NaPTAN, read 17 October 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Which GP surgeries are in Bedford?
The GP practices at the postcodes in Bedford, the first 5 by distance from its middle. Each practice sets the area it takes patients from, so check with it before registering.
- The De Parys Group150 m
- Goldington Avenue Surgery400 m
- Ashburnham Road Surgery1.4 km
- Linden Road Surgery1.4 km
- London Road Health Centre1.5 km
Source: NHS England, Organisation Data Service (GP practices), read 17 October 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Is Bedford safe? Crime recorded around it
Police.uk records 7,061 crimes and reports of anti-social behaviour within a mile of the middle of the postcodes in Bedford over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026. August 2026 is the latest month it has published. These are counts, not a rate: we hold no count of the people who live, work or pass through, so we do not say whether a place is safe.
Each month, September 2025 to August 2026
- 551 September 2025
- 561 October 2025
- 533 November 2025
- 477 December 2025
- 420 January 2026
- 458 February 2026
- 562 March 2026
- 590 April 2026
- 631 May 2026
- 622 June 2026
- 858 July 2026
- 798 August 2026
By kind, over the 12 months
Also: burglary 223, other crime 164, robbery 151, bicycle theft 129, possession of weapons 82, theft from the person 67.
Police.uk says its locations "always represent the approximate location of a crime". Each crime is moved to the nearest of a fixed list of map points, each over a street centre, a public place or a commercial premises, chosen so that every point covers at least eight addresses or none. A mile is a wide circle: in a town it takes in the centre and its shops, where much crime is recorded.
Crime around one postcodeSource: Police.uk (data.police.uk), data to August 2026, from its download of 30 September 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Who runs Bedford?
- Council
- Bedford
- Parliamentary constituencies
- Bedford (2,094), North Bedfordshire (135) and Mid Bedfordshire (58)
- Police force area
- Bedfordshire
- Region
- East of England
- Country
- England
Where the place crosses a boundary, a row lists each side with its number of postcodes. Check a postcode for its own. What council am I in?
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026. See all our data sources
Moving to Bedford
Who to tell and what to sort out in your first week.
- Tell Bedford about council tax Council tax, on bedford.gov.uk
- Register to vote at the new address Register to vote on GOV.UK
- Register with a GP practice The GP practices in Bedford
- Take meter readings on the day you move in
- Power cut? Call 105. It is free. About 105, the power cut number
- Find out your bin day Find your rubbish collection day on GOV.UK
Bedford postcodes
2,287 postcodes in use in Bedford, by district:
Those districts are all in the MK postcode area.
Check a Bedford postcode
Enter a full postcode to see its ward, its flood risk, house prices in its sector and its nearest schools.
Do not know the postcode? What is my postcode?
Places near Bedford
With the typical price of a home in each, to set beside Bedford's £327,500. Distances are straight lines between the middles of each place's postcodes.
Questions about Bedford
- What is it like to live in Bedford?
- Homes sold for a typical £327,500 in the 12 months to August 2026, up 1.7% on the 12 months before. At 1,799 of the 2,175 postcodes Ofcom reports on, every home and business can get gigabit broadband. The Environment Agency counts 275 homes and businesses at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, at 179 of its 2,287 postcodes. It has 5 primary schools, 1 secondary school and 3 all-through schools at its postcodes, or more. At least 5 GP practices are at its postcodes. The nearest railway station is Bedford St Johns, 1.4 km from the middle of its postcodes in a straight line. We don't rate places; here are the figures so you can judge. Source: HM Land Registry, Ofcom, the Environment Agency, the Department for Education, NHS England and the Department for Transport, as each section of this page says.
- What is the postcode for Bedford?
- Bedford is covered by postcode districts MK40, MK41, MK42, MK43, MK44 and MK45, across 2,287 postcodes in use. Source: ONS Postcode Directory.
- Which council is Bedford in?
- Bedford is in the Bedford council area. Source: ONS Postcode Directory.
- How much are houses in Bedford?
- Homes in Bedford sold for a typical £327,500 in the 12 months to August 2026, across 797 sales, up 1.7% on the 12 months before. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, files dated 28 September 2026.
- What schools are in Bedford?
- In Bedford, primary schools at its postcodes include Bedford School, Castle Newnham School and Bedford Girls' School; secondary schools at its postcodes include Bedford School, Castle Newnham School and Bedford Girls' School. Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools, read 17 October 2026.
- Does Bedford have a railway station?
- Yes: Bedford St Johns is 1.4 km from the centre point of the postcodes in Bedford, in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, NaPTAN, read 17 October 2026.
- What broadband can you get in Bedford?
- Ofcom reports on 2,175 of the 2,287 postcodes in Bedford. At 1,799 of them every home and business can get gigabit broadband. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations, Spring 2026.
- Is Bedford at risk of flooding?
- 179 of the 2,287 postcodes in Bedford 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 275 homes and businesses in an area at high or medium risk. This is long-term risk for the land, and leaves out surface water. Source: Environment Agency.
- Are new homes being built in Bedford?
- 82 of the 2,287 postcodes now in use in Bedford came into use in January 2020 or later, ONS says. In the 12 months to August 2025, 22 of the 1,051 homes sold in Bedford were newly built (2%), HM Land Registry's records show; across the MK41 district, 0%. Source: ONS Postcode Directory and HM Land Registry Price Paid Data.
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