Living in B42, Birmingham
What the open data says about house prices, schools, crime and flood risk around B42 in Birmingham. Built from the same sources as every property report on this site, not opinion or marketing copy.
- Homes on the streets around central B42 sold at a median of £222,000 across 169 recorded sales, below the England average of £290,000 (HM Land Registry).
- Prices across Birmingham are up 2.5% on a year ago (UK House Price Index).
- Of the 100 schools within about 3 miles, 88% are rated Good or Outstanding, against 90% of state schools in England (Ofsted).
- The centre of B42 is in flood zone 1 (low probability), on the Environment Agency flood map for planning.
- A Band D household in Birmingham pays £2,363 in council tax for 2026-27, every precept included (MHCLG).
- Police recorded 226 crimes within roughly a mile of the centre in August 2026, most commonly violent crime (Police.uk).
Figures gathered 11 October 2026, each from the source named in its section.
House prices
Average price in Birmingham: £234,257, up 2.5% on a year ago (July 2026). The wider West Midlands average is £236,098.
Check sold prices for a specific address in B42 →
See where B42 ranks across West Midlands →
Council tax at Band D in Birmingham: £2,363 a year (2026-27). Running costs by postcode: council tax, energy, tenure, and the estate charge no listing shows →
Compare B42 with another district
Sold prices, the price trend, schools, flood zone, Band D council tax and crime for B42 against any other district, each from the source the section below names.
What actually sold around B42
169 recorded home sales on the streets around central B42 in the last 2 years, with a median of £222,000 and a range from £10,000 to £465,000. Mostly semi-detached houses.
| Address | Type | Sold for | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49 Thornbridge Avenue, B42 2PW | Semi-detached | £246,000 | 23 Jul 2026 |
| 138 Thornbridge Avenue, B42 2AE | Terraced | £236,000 | 10 Jul 2026 |
| 67 Thetford Road, B42 2JA | Terraced | £255,000 | 9 Jul 2026 |
| 14 Ipswich Crescent, B42 1LY | Semi-detached | £275,000 | 3 Jul 2026 |
| 65 Wensleydale Road, B42 1PR | Semi-detached | £185,000 | 25 Jun 2026 |
| 65 Carmodale Avenue, B42 1PN | Terraced | £210,000 | 8 Jun 2026 |
How to read this
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data. Every sale of a registered property in England and Wales appears here once it completes, so the most recent weeks are always still filling in.
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
Schools nearby
100 schools within 3 miles , of which 88% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.
| Nearest well-rated schools | Stage | Ofsted | Distance | Admitted from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grove Vale Primary School | Primary | Outstanding | 1.7 mi away | 0.55 mi varies |
| Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy | Primary | Outstanding | 2.2 mi away | no figure |
| St Michael's CofE Primary Academy, Handsworth | Primary | Outstanding | 2.4 mi away | no figure |
| King Edward VI Aston School | Secondary | Outstanding | 2.4 mi away | no figure |
| Beeches Junior School | Primary | Good | 0.5 mi away | no figure |
| Calshot Primary School | Primary | Good | 0.6 mi away | no figure |
Schools in B42 with a published admission distance
How far away the last child offered a place lived, as the council published it. Tightest first; each name opens the school's page and its postcode checker.
| School | Stage | Admitted from | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorrington Academy | Primary | 1.16 mi | 2023/24 |
Will an address here get a place? How far Birmingham schools admitted from, school by school →
61 state primary and 21 state secondary schools within range, plus 8 fee-paying schools.
Private schools
8 fee-paying schools within 3 miles: Aspire AP School 2, Birchfield Independent Girls' School, Birmingham Independent College, Flexible Learning School, Future First Independent School, Newbury Independent School and others.
All 8 fee-paying schools near B42, with ages and admissions →
Fee-paying schools are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted, and the ISI publishes no open data feed. That is why they carry no rating here. A missing grade means we cannot see one, not that the school was judged poorly.
What people here do for work
The most common occupations among working residents, from the 2021 Census. This is occupation rather than industry: it says what people do, not which industries employ them.
| Occupation group | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Professional occupations | 14.6% |
| Elementary occupations | 13.4% |
| Administrative and secretarial | 12.9% |
| Associate professional and technical | 12.3% |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | 10.7% |
Source: ONS Census 2021, table TS063, for this district's small area.
How B42 has changed since 2011
The biggest move: private renting, up 8.6 points since 2011, with England's change beside each line.
How to read this
The census neighbourhood at the centre of B42 (E01009234, 1,466 residents in 2021, down 3.6% on 2011) on the 2011 and 2021 censuses, with England's own change over the same decade for scale. Each line is a share of the neighbourhood's households or residents, so a growing area and a shrinking one compare fairly. The biggest move here: private renting, up 8.6 points.
| Measure | 2011 | 2021 | Change | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79.3% | 73.2% | -6.1 pts | -2.0 pts |
| Households renting privately | 15.1% | 23.7% | +8.6 pts | +3.7 pts |
| Households renting socially | 4.5% | 2.9% | -1.6 pts | -0.6 pts |
| Residents under 15 | 21.4% | 19.4% | -2.0 pts | -0.3 pts |
| Residents 65 and over | 9.4% | 12.8% | +3.4 pts | +2.1 pts |
| Adults with a degree or equivalent | 19.8% | 24.8% | +5.0 pts | +6.5 pts |
| Residents born outside the UK | 7.3% | 13.7% | +6.4 pts | +3.6 pts |
| Residents in good or very good health | 84.5% | 84.2% | -0.3 pts | +0.8 pts |
| Residents in a white ethnic group | 78.6% | 70.9% | -7.7 pts | -4.4 pts |
Office for National Statistics, Census 2011 and Census 2021, Open Government Licence. A district holds many neighbourhoods; the full report for an address shows the one it sits in.
Crime
226 crimes recorded within roughly a mile of central B42 in August 2026, most commonly violent crime.
Flood risk
Zone 1 (low probability). This is the Environment Agency's flood zone for the area's centre point, an individual property's own risk can differ, especially near a specific watercourse.
Deprivation
This area falls in decile 5 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (moderately deprived ), based on Birmingham's figures.
Buses from the centre of B42
Best-served stop: Gainsborough Road, with 8.2 buses an hour on weekday daytimes.
Evenings, Sundays and routes
The best-served stop within 800 m of the centre of B42 is Gainsborough Road: 8.2 buses an hour on a weekday daytime, 4.8 in the evening and 5.9 on Sunday daytime; first bus 04:46, last 00:42 after midnight. Routes there: 51, 52. 5 stops with a scheduled service within that distance.
Departures a passenger can board, from the timetables operators publish to the Department for Transport's Bus Open Data Service, for Tuesday 8 Sep 2026 and Sunday 13 Sep 2026. Scheduled, not observed. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two stops. The full report does this for the stops within 500 m of an address.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport)
GP practices and A&E
3 GP practices within 3.0 km of the centre of B42. The nearest, Tower Hill Partnership, has 18,213 registered patients and 2,365 patients per fully qualified GP, against an England median of 2,186.
| Practice | From the centre | Patients | Per qualified GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Hill Partnership | 0.3 mi | 18,213 | 2,365 |
| Perry Park Surgery | 0.6 mi | 6,438 | 3,018 |
| Cotmore Surgery | 0.9 mi | 3,350 | 1,005 |
Nearest A&E: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, where 61.4% of type 1 attendances were seen within four hours in July 2026; then Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust at 83.9%.
How to read this
NHS England: patients registered at a GP practice (1 Aug 2026), the general practice workforce (July 2026), and A&E attendances by provider, monthly. Fully qualified GPs exclude trainees. Practices are matched by postcode.
Source: NHS England, monthly releases
Council tax and the council's finances
A Band D household in Birmingham pays £2,363 for 2026-27, all precepts included, a rise of 5.3% on the year before against an England median rise of 4.8%. Every band for Birmingham, and how it compares.
| Year | Band D bill | Rise |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | £1,756 | +5.3% |
| 2022-23 | £1,816 | +3.4% |
| 2023-24 | £1,913 | +5.3% |
| 2024-25 | £2,091 | +9.3% |
| 2025-26 | £2,245 | +7.4% |
| 2026-27 | £2,363 | +5.3% |
Exceptional Financial Support. Birmingham was agreed support by government for 2025-26 (£180.0m, later revised), 2024-25 (£685.0m, later revised). Support is permission to borrow, or to spend capital receipts, on day-to-day services because the council could not otherwise set a balanced budget. Councils in this position tend to cut services and raise council tax by the most the rules allow.
Section 114 notices. 5 Sep 2023 (first notice); 22 Sep 2023 (second notice). The chief finance officer's declaration that the council cannot balance its budget; it freezes new spending until a recovery plan is agreed.
How to read this
A home's own band is on its council tax bill, free to look up at gov.uk/council-tax-bands; the report shows every band's bill at the council beside the home's other checks.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, live council tax tables (Band D, area averages) and the Exceptional Financial Support lists published each year; section 114 notices as published by the councils.
Source: MHCLG live council tax tables and Exceptional Financial Support lists
Common questions about B42
What is the average house price in B42?
The average sold price in Birmingham is £234,257 as of July 2026, according to the UK House Price Index.
Are house prices rising in B42?
Prices in Birmingham are up 2.5% on a year ago (UK House Price Index).
What do houses actually sell for in B42?
The median of 169 recorded sales around central B42 in the last 2 years is £222,000, ranging from £10,000 to £465,000 (HM Land Registry Price Paid Data).
Are the schools good in B42?
100 schools sit within 3 miles of central B42, and 88% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.
How much crime is there in B42?
226 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of central B42 in August 2026, most commonly violent crime (Police.uk).
Is B42 at risk of flooding?
Central B42 sits in Zone 1 (low probability) for river and sea flooding (Environment Agency). Individual addresses vary, so check the full report for a specific property.
Is B42 a good place to live?
That depends on what you need, so here is what the official data says rather than an opinion: 88% of nearby schools are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted; the median home sells for £222,000; the area sits in decile 5 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation; 226 crimes were recorded within about a mile. Every one of those figures names its source on this page.
Is B42 safe?
226 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of central B42 in August 2026, according to Police.uk. The most common category was violent crime. Crime counts follow how many people are around, so a busy district records more than a quiet one of the same size.
Neighbouring districts
Want the full picture for a specific property?
This page covers B42 as a whole. For sold price history, EPC rating, exact-address crime and flood risk, school catchment areas and 30+ other checks on one specific property, search its full postcode.