Social housing in Bedford
16.3% of households in Bedford are social housing — council or housing-association homes — according to the 2021–22 Census. That is close to the UK average of 17.5%.
How much social housing is there in Bedford?
Bedford ranks 144th of 374 UK local authorities by social-housing share. Of its 74,960 households, 12,200 are social homes (16.3%) — renting from the council or a housing association.
How does Bedford compare with the UK average?
At -1.2 percentage points versus the UK average of 17.5%, Bedford sits close to the national level.
Bedford at a glance
Beyond housing, here is what the map's other datasets say about Bedford.
Schools
On the Department for Education's register, Bedford has 85 schools — 77 state-funded and 8 independent. That includes 54 primary and 14 secondary schools. Of the 38 with a published Ofsted grade, 92% are Good or Outstanding.
Nurseries
There are 90 nurseries and pre-schools on Ofsted's childcare register in Bedford, offering about 4,157 registered childcare places. Childminders are not counted — Ofsted withholds their addresses.
Deprivation
The median neighbourhood in Bedford sits in decile 6 of 10 on its nation's deprivation index, and 15% of its 117 neighbourhoods fall in the most-deprived national fifth.
House prices
The median neighbourhood price is about £3,700 per m², from Land Registry sold prices matched to EPC floor areas.
Broadband
Median available download speed is about 515 Mbit/s — what can be ordered, not what residents have bought (Ofcom Connected Nations).
Explore Bedford
See Bedford through the other lenses on the interactive map — house prices, recorded crime and anti-social behaviour, road & rail noise, deprivation and broadband:
Which areas are similar to Bedford?
Figures: 2021–22 Census · Page updated 15 August 2026 · Download the full dataset (CSV, all 374 councils).