Caversham
Caversham is a town or village in Berkshire, England, with one GP surgery and clinic, around 3 pharmacies, 2 supermarkets, one park and green, and 34 restaurants and cafés. There are 34 bus stops and the nearest railway station is Reading, 1.9 km away. There were around 509 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 Caversham area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Reading area is around the average in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 174,224 residents at roughly 4,313 people per km².
My Area Score
Mixed
Ranked 225th of 294 English council areas — better than 23% 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
10°COvercast
- Today: 10° / 8° · 24% rain
- Tomorrow: 11° / 6° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 07:02Sunset 16:32
9h 29m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
25US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Reading New Town, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 7.1 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 5.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
591 reported · August 2026▼ 7% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences160
- Shoplifting128
- Other theft64
- Anti-social behaviour51
117 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
Neighbourhood team: Peppard and Caversham · Thames Valley
Local policing priorities
- Inconsiderate and illegal riding of motorcycles and electric scooters in public areas along with vehicles causing issues in community car…
- Retail crime - Identifying repeated shopliftings within Caversham, liaising with other neighbourhood teams to identify patterns early and…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
250 reported road collisions (2025)
46 killed or seriously injured · 281 casualties · 14.3 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
500+ food businesses within 2 miles
- 371 rated 4–5 ★ (292 top)
- 24 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency · split of the nearest 500
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Reading (1.0 km)
- 54 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Reading (1.0 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£350,501 average▼ 0.4% YoY
Across Reading · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,574 average monthly rent▲ 1.4% YoY
- 1 bed £1,116
- 2 bed £1,393
- 3 bed £1,671
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
7.1× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 7.1 times median annual pay (8.2× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
1,833 property sales in the last 12 months
12 months to May 2026
A busier or quieter market is not by itself good or bad. Monthly counts are small and volatile, so only the annual total is shown.
Source: HM Land Registry UK HPI, 12 months to 2026-05
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 156.9p · BP (1 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · BP (1 km)
10 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
105 charging locations within ~8 km
- 28 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 360 kW
- Nearest: Chester Street Car Park (0.1 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres7
- Gyms13
- Swimming pools7
- Sports pitches28
- Playgrounds12
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
174,224 residents in Reading · 4,313/km²
- Under 16: 19%
- 16–64: 69%
- 65+: 12%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK16,941
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK18,803
- Net moves−1,862
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 147 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,613 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (41% of 77,290)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
72 schools · 26,837 pupils
41 primary · 11 secondary · 20 other
Ofsted: 24 of 26 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (92%)
62 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Kendrick SchoolOutstanding
- Reading SchoolOutstanding
- King's Academy ProspectGood
- Reading Girls' SchoolGood
- The WREN SchoolRequires improvement
- Hartland High SchoolInadequate
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre
- Maiden Erlegh School in Reading
- River Academy
- UTC Reading
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Reading
Care & health services
190 CQC-registered services
- Care homes32
- GP practices33
- Dentists34
- Homecare agencies61
- Hospitals & hospices8
CQC ratings: 88% of rated services Good or Outstanding
Source: Care Quality Commission · Reading
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 167 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
184 applications decided
88.6% granted · 163 granted, 21 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Your MP
Matt Rodda
Labour
Reading Central
Recent votes:
- AyeBudget Resolution No. 76: Rates of alcohol duty
- AyeBudget Resolution No. 55: Value added tax (electric vehicle charging)
- AyeBudget Resolution No. 15: Charges in connection with employment visas
- AyeBudget Resolution No. 8: Capital gains tax (business asset disposal relief)
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Labour majority
- Lab 29
- Con 5
- LD 3
- Grn 11
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools12
- GPs & clinics3
- Pharmacies7
- Supermarkets6
- Parks & greens24
- Restaurants & cafés192
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
8,230 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
489 jobs advertised · £48,499 avg
e.g. Maths Teacher, Commercial Vehicle Technician, Nurse Functional Assessor
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£805 median full-time weekly pay
4.2% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£25,812 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
48% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 89,722 certificates
10.4% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
30% low-carbon electricity
Gas 68% · Wind 16% · Biomass 7% · Nuclear 5%
278 gCO₂/kWh · very high intensity
Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.5 yrs women · 78.9 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 63 women · 61.7 men
63% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.4
- Feeling worthwhile7.8
- Happiness yesterday7.4
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.2
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Health services
6 GP surgeries · 5 pharmacies in RG4
- Balmore Park Surgery
- Emmer Green Surgery
- Reading Ent Clinic
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Reading Central:
- Offer MenB vaccine to under 22s born before 2015550 local signatures · 3,919 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks293 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND163 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills143 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
- Make statutory maternity pay 90% of wage for first 12 weeks & minimum wage after137 local signatures · 58,157 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
West Memorial Hall · 0.1 kmThe West Memorial Hall, or West Memorial Institute, is a Victorian Grade II listed building at 7-9 Gosbrook Road, Caversham, Berkshire, designed by Alfred Waterhouse. The Hall is a former Baptist Free Church that has…
Caversham, Reading · 0.1 kmCaversham is a village and a suburb of Reading in Berkshire, England, located directly north of Reading town centre across the River Thames. Caversham rises from the River Thames, lying on flood plain and the lowest r…
- Queen Anne's School · 0.4 km
Queen Anne's School is a private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18, situated on a 35-acre (14 ha) campus in Caversham. There are around 450 pupils. Nearly half are full, weekly or flexi-boarders. The sch…
Hemdean House School · 0.4 kmHemdean House School was a mixed, independent, primary and nursery school for children aged 3–11. It was situated in the centre of Caversham in Reading, Berkshire, England. The school operated as a non-profit register…
Pipers Island · 0.4 kmPipers Island, or Piper's Island, is the third smallest map-named island in the River Thames, in England. It is on the Reading, Berkshire reach the head of water above Caversham Lock. It is toward the edge of the cent…
Caversham (Reading ward) · 0.4 kmCaversham is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. In a set of boundary changes in 2022, the boundaries of Caversham ward were significantly changed, gaining area from the fo…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Reading with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Caversham?
- Caversham is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Reading local authority.
- How deprived is Caversham?
- The Reading local authority, which includes Caversham, is around the average in England on the IoD2025.