Kempston
Kempston is a town in Bedfordshire, England, with a population of around 19,873. It has around two GPs & clinics, two pharmacies, one supermarket, and 31 restaurants and cafés, 22 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Bedford St Johns, 2.4 km away. There were around 186 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly Violence & sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Kempston area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Bedford area is around the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 185,227 residents at roughly 389 people per km².
- Council
- Bedford
- County
- Bedfordshire
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Police force
- Bedfordshire
My Area Score
Mixed
Ranked 170th of 294 English council areas — better than 42% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
18°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 23° / 12° · 58% rain
- Tomorrow: 23° / 17° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:30Sunset 19:26
12h 56m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
21US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Northampton Spring Park, United Kingdom
Crime
221 reported · July 2026▼ 10% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences83
- Shoplifting35
- Anti-social behaviour26
- Vehicle crime16
Neighbourhood team: Kingsbrook, Kempston, Cauldwell · Bedfordshire
Local policing priorities
- Community Priority for Kingsbrook & Cauldwell wards. 01st February 2026 to 01st August 2026. Extended until 01/11/2026 During the priorit…
- Community Priority for Kempston. 01st February 2026 to 01st August 2026. Extended until 01/11/2026 During the priority setting meeting he…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
288 reported road collisions (2024)
55 killed or seriously injured · 366 casualties · 15.5 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
403 food businesses within 2 miles
- 323 rated 4–5 ★ (267 top)
- 10 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Bedford (2.7 km)
- 20 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Bedford (2.7 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£329,830 average▲ 4.4% YoY
Across Bedford · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,170 average monthly rent▲ 3.4% YoY
- 1 bed £798
- 2 bed £1,027
- 3 bed £1,256
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
9.1× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 9.1 times median annual pay (9.3× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 165.9p · Morrisons (1.8 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 187.9p · Morrisons (1.8 km)
2 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
48 charging locations within ~8 km
- 14 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 300 kW
- Nearest: St. John's Street Car Park (0.1 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres2
- Gyms1
- Sports pitches18
- Playgrounds20
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
185,227 residents in Bedford · 389/km²
- Under 16: 20%
- 16–64: 63%
- 65+: 17%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 156 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
4% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,472 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (25% of 80,810)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
85 schools · 35,894 pupils
54 primary · 13 secondary · 18 other
Ofsted: 35 of 38 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (92%)
75inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Bedford Free SchoolOutstanding
- Bedford AcademyGood
- Goldington AcademyGood
- St Thomas More Catholic SchoolGood
- Mark Rutherford SchoolRequires improvement
- Wixams AcademyRequires improvement
- Biddenham International School and Sports College
- Castle Newnham School
- Daubeney Academy
- Kempston Academy
- Lincroft Academy
- Sharnbrook Academy
- Wootton Academy
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Bedford
Care & health services
272 CQC-registered services
- Care homes73
- GP practices34
- Dentists50
- Homecare agencies84
- Hospitals & hospices8
CQC ratings: 82% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 7 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Bedford
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 24 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
221 applications decided
72.4% granted · 160 granted, 61 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Mohammad Yasin
Labour
Bedford
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Conservative majority · directly-elected mayor
- Lab 12
- Con 14
- LD 13
- Grn 4
- Oth 3
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools12
- GPs & clinics3
- Pharmacies2
- Supermarkets4
- Parks & greens21
- Restaurants & cafés40
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
8,350 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
108 jobs advertised · £41,105 avg
e.g. Amazon Flex Delivery Driver - Earn £14 - £18 per hour*, Non-ADR Tanker Bedford, Engineering Manager
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£780 median full-time weekly pay
4.4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£24,626 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
54% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: C · 90,060 certificates
9.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
85% low-carbon electricity
Wind 58% · Nuclear 19% · Gas 15% · Biomass 8%
66 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.4 yrs women · 80.2 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 62.7 women · 62.5 men
73% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.5
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.4
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Bedford:
- Do not ban social media for under 16s386 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership319 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership215 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office192 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test184 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Kempston · 0.3 kmKempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, situated around 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Bedford town centre. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census, and forms p…
Kempston gravel pit railway · 0.4 kmKempston gravel pit railway was a narrow-gauge tramway which connected a gravel pit in the Hill Grounds area of Kempston, Bedfordshire to Bedford Road. There are a small number of records of its operation in the late…
- Kempston South · 0.7 km
Kempston South is an electoral ward and area within the town of Kempston, Bedfordshire, England.
- Grange Academy, Kempston · 0.8 km
Grange Academy is a coeducational special school located in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England. The school accepts pupils between the ages of 5 and 16 years with Moderate Learning Difficulties from all over the Borough o…
- Kempston North · 0.8 km
Kempston North is an electoral ward and area within the town of Kempston, Bedfordshire, England.
- Kempston Academy · 0.9 km
Kempston Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located on Hill Rise in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England. The school forms part of an educational campus which also includes a Child Development Centre and Ri…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Kempston?
- Kempston is a town in Bedfordshire, England, in the Bedford local authority.
- What is the population of Kempston?
- Kempston has an approximate settlement population of 19,873.
- How deprived is Kempston?
- The Bedford local authority, which includes Kempston, is around the average in England on the IoD2019.