My Area UK

Reading

Reading is a city in Berkshire, England, with a population of around 318,014. It has around 1 school, 2 GP surgeries, 6 pharmacies, 1 supermarket, 24 parks & greens, and around 67 restaurants and cafés, with 56 bus stops and the nearest railway station being Reading, 2.7 km away. The average sold house price is around £480,275. There were around 889 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 Reading area — all from official UK open data.

On deprivation, the Reading area is around the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 174,224 residents at roughly 4,313 people per km².

Council
Reading
County
Berkshire
Constituency
Reading East
Police force
Thames Valley
39/ 100

My Area Score

Mixed

Ranked 232nd of 294 English council areas — better than 21% of them.

Low crime24
Home affordability67
Affordable rents39
Good schools71
Life expectancy35
Low deprivation44
Employment25
Low council tax9

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°CSunny

  • Today: 19° / 10° · 7% rain
  • Tomorrow: 20° / 10° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Daylight

Sunrise 06:27Sunset 19:34

13h 7m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

Air quality

23US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: ozone

Source: WAQI · Reading New Town, United Kingdom

Crime

972 reported · July 2026 14% YoY

  • Violence & sexual offences293
  • Shoplifting223
  • Anti-social behaviour101
  • Public order74

90 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs

Neighbourhood team: Abbey and Battle · Thames Valley

Local policing priorities

  • Drugs being dealt – areas of interest Battle Square, Kensington Road and Chester Street. This has lead to groups of drug users hanging ar…
  • Retail shops in Reading Town Centre are targeted frequently by drug addicts who shoplift to support their habit.

Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)

Road safety

251 reported road collisions (2024)

31 killed or seriously injured · 277 casualties · 14.4 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

Food hygiene

500+ food businesses within 2 miles

  • 365 rated 4–5 ★ (271 top)
  • 32 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency · split of the nearest 500

Flood risk

No active flood warnings nearby.

Buses & trains

  • Nearest station: Reading (0.3 km)
  • 96 bus stops within ~½ mile

Live trains from Reading (0.3 km):

Loading live departures…

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

House prices

£361,243 average 0.9% YoY

Across Reading · to 2026-06

Detached£736,701
Semi-detached£457,052
Terraced£363,306
Flat£231,436

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

Private rents

£1,573 average monthly rent 1.9% YoY

  • 1 bed £1,115
  • 2 bed £1,392
  • 3 bed £1,670

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07

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

Fuel prices

  • Cheapest petrol: 156.9p · BP (1.3 km)
  • Cheapest diesel: 186.7p · Asda (4.6 km)

19 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

EV charging

104 charging locations within ~8 km

  • 29 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
  • Fastest nearby: 360 kW
  • Nearest: Novotel Reading Centre (0.1 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

Sport & leisure

  • Sports centres8
  • Gyms15
  • Swimming pools3
  • Sports pitches45
  • Playgrounds27

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)

Deprivation

Around the average in England

Ranked 141 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

5% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

Council tax

£2,613 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (41% of 77,290)

A £1,742
B £2,032
C £2,322
D £2,613
E £3,193
F £3,774
G £4,355
H £5,226

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%)

62inspected 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

189 CQC-registered services

  • Care homes32
  • GP practices33
  • Dentists34
  • Homecare agencies61
  • Hospitals & hospices8

CQC ratings: 86% of rated services Good or Outstanding

Source: Care Quality Commission · Reading

Heritage & planning

  • Not in the Green Belt
  • 410 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)

Planning decisions

148 applications decided

87.8% granted · 130 granted, 18 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Your MP

Matt Rodda

Labour

Reading Central

Recent votes:

  • NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
  • NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143
  • NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 142
  • NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 140

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

  • Schools22
  • GPs & clinics17
  • Pharmacies11
  • Supermarkets13
  • Parks & greens37
  • Restaurants & cafés261

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

Local businesses

8,195 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

Jobs

6,334 jobs advertised · £46,077 avg

e.g. SEN Teacher, Roadside Technician Nights - Reading / Oxford, Market Research Field Interviewer Paid per Shift Car Required

Source: Adzuna

Local economy

£805 median full-time weekly pay

4.3% 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

60% low-carbon electricity

Solar 36% · Imports 29% · Wind 15% · Gas 11%

70 gCO₂/kWh · low 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

9 GP surgeries · 7 pharmacies in RG2

  • Milman & Kennet Surgery
  • Long Barn Lane Surgery
  • University Medical Group

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Local petitions

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Reading Central:

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06

Notable places nearby

  • Statue of Queen Victoria, Reading · 0.1 km

    The statue of Queen Victoria stands at the eastern end of Friar Street outside the Town Hall of Reading, Berkshire, in southern England.

  • Queen Victoria Street, Reading · 0.1 km

    Queen Victoria Street is a pedestrianised thoroughfare in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. It connects Broad Street with Friar Street and Station Road.

  • Broad Street, Reading · 0.1 km

    Broad Street is a main pedestrianised thoroughfare and the primary high street in the English town of Reading. The street is situated in the town centre, running for approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km), from west to ea…

  • Reading Town Hall · 0.1 km

    Reading Town Hall is the town hall of Reading, Berkshire, England. The town hall was built in several phases between 1786 and 1897, although the principal facade was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1875. Situated clo…

  • Corn Exchange, Reading · 0.1 km

    The Corn Exchange is a former commercial building in Reading, Berkshire, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a corn exchange, is a Grade II listed building.

  • Heelas of Reading · 0.1 km

    Heelas is a major department store in Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It was known as Heelas until 2001 and that name is still in common usage. The store fronts on to Reading's main pedestrianised shopping…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)

Compare Reading with nearby areas

Frequently asked questions

Where is Reading?
Reading is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Reading local authority.
What is the population of Reading?
Reading has an approximate settlement population of 318,014.
How deprived is Reading?
The Reading local authority, which includes Reading, is around the average in England on the IoD2019.