Area guide

Living in LU1, Luton

What the open data says about house prices, schools, crime and flood risk around LU1 in Luton. Built from the same sources as every property report on this site, not opinion or marketing copy.

Figures gathered 15 October 2026, each from the source named in its section.

House prices

Average price in Luton: £284,946, up 0.5% on a year ago (July 2026). The wider East of England average is £337,518.

Check sold prices for a specific address in LU1 →
See where LU1 ranks across East of England →

Council tax at Band D in Luton: £2,440 a year (2026-27). Running costs by postcode: council tax, energy, tenure, and the estate charge no listing shows →

Compare LU1 with another district

Sold prices, the price trend, schools, flood zone, Band D council tax and crime for LU1 against any other district, each from the source the section below names.

What actually sold around LU1

139 recorded home sales on the streets around central LU1 in the last 2 years, with a median of £268,000 and a range from £62,000 to £590,000. Mostly terraced houses.

AddressTypeSold forDate
30 Russell Street, LU1 5EA Terraced £212,000 30 Jun 2026
52 St Saviours Crescent, LU1 5HG Terraced £257,500 26 Jun 2026
50 Milton Road, LU1 5HZ Terraced £210,000 22 Jun 2026
14 Hillary Crescent, LU1 5JH Semi-detached £375,000 12 Jun 2026
13 Dunsmore Road, LU1 5JU Semi-detached £315,000 21 May 2026
10 Downs Road, LU1 1QR Terraced £345,000 15 May 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

57 schools within 3 miles , of which 87% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.

Nearest well-rated schoolsStageOfstedDistanceAdmitted from
Hillborough Junior School Primary Outstanding 0.1 mi away no figure
Farley Junior Academy Primary Outstanding 0.2 mi away no figure
Tennyson Road Primary School Primary Outstanding 0.5 mi away no figure
Denbigh High School Secondary Outstanding 1.2 mi away no figure
Challney High School for Boys Secondary Outstanding 2.2 mi away no figure
Challney High School for Girls Secondary Outstanding 2.4 mi away no figure

Schools in LU1 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.

SchoolStageAdmitted fromRound
St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary 2.22 mi 2026/27

35 state primary and 7 state secondary schools within range, plus 6 fee-paying schools.

See the full school breakdown for LU1 →

Private schools

6 fee-paying schools within 3 miles: Al Hikmah Boys School, Bury Park Educational Institute (Al - Hikmah Secondary School), Jamiatul Uloom Al - Islamia, King's House Moorlands, Mehria Primary School, Oakwood Primary School.

All 6 fee-paying schools near LU1, 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.

Universities

1 higher education institution within 3 miles: University of Bedfordshire.

Relevant beyond study: a large student population shapes rental demand, and term-time letting is a different market from family letting.

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 groupShare of workers
Elementary occupations29.8%
Skilled trades13.3%
Process, plant and machine operatives12.3%
Caring, leisure and other service9.9%
Professional occupations9.1%

Source: ONS Census 2021, table TS063, for this district's small area.

How LU1 has changed since 2011

The biggest move: born outside the uk, up 15.3 points since 2011, with England's change beside each line.

How to read this

The census neighbourhood at the centre of LU1 (E01015735, 1,927 residents in 2021, up 11.4% 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: born outside the uk, up 15.3 points.

Measure20112021ChangeEngland
Households that own their home 30.0% 26.0% -4.0 pts -2.0 pts
Households renting privately 49.1% 55.8% +6.7 pts +3.7 pts
Households renting socially 19.3% 17.3% -2.0 pts -0.6 pts
Residents under 15 19.2% 21.4% +2.2 pts -0.3 pts
Residents 65 and over 4.0% 5.3% +1.3 pts +2.1 pts
Adults with a degree or equivalent 24.3% 28.2% +3.9 pts +6.5 pts
Residents born outside the UK 43.5% 58.8% +15.3 pts +3.6 pts
Residents in good or very good health 86.0% 84.2% -1.8 pts +0.8 pts
Residents in a white ethnic group 56.1% 51.7% -4.4 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

827 crimes recorded within roughly a mile of central LU1 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 2 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (most deprived nationally), based on Luton's figures.

Getting around & nearby essentials

15 supermarkets, 11 pharmacies, 152 restaurants and cafés, 28 pubs, 3 hospitals within a mile of central LU1, hospitals within three miles.

Buses from the centre of LU1

Best-served stop: Tenzing Grove, with 0.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes.

Evenings, Sundays and routes

The best-served stop within 800 m of the centre of LU1 is Tenzing Grove: 0.1 buses an hour on a weekday daytime, 0.0 in the evening and 0.0 on Sunday daytime; first bus 15:35, last 15:35. Routes there: 819. 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 LU1. The nearest, The Medici Medical Practice, has 17,254 registered patients and 4,278 patients per fully qualified GP, against an England median of 2,186.

PracticeFrom the centrePatientsPer qualified GP
The Medici Medical Practice0.4 mi17,2544,278
Bute House Medical Centre0.4 mi11,0252,068
Castle Medical Group Practice0.5 mi14,3044,326

Nearest A&E: Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where 63.5% of type 1 attendances were seen within four hours in July 2026; then North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust at 60.7%.

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 Luton pays £2,440 for 2026-27, all precepts included, a rise of 5.2% on the year before against an England median rise of 4.8%. Every band for Luton, and how it compares.

Band D bill a year at Luton, all precepts included, from MHCLG. Every year and its rise is in the table below.
YearBand D billRise
2021-22£1,943+5.0%
2022-23£2,004+3.1%
2023-24£2,107+5.1%
2024-25£2,210+4.9%
2025-26£2,320+5.0%
2026-27£2,440+5.2%

Exceptional Financial Support. Luton was agreed support by government for 2020-21 (£35.0m). 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.

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 LU1

What is the average house price in LU1?

The average sold price in Luton is £284,946 as of July 2026, according to the UK House Price Index.

Are house prices rising in LU1?

Prices in Luton are up 0.5% on a year ago (UK House Price Index).

What do houses actually sell for in LU1?

The median of 139 recorded sales around central LU1 in the last 2 years is £268,000, ranging from £62,000 to £590,000 (HM Land Registry Price Paid Data).

Are the schools good in LU1?

57 schools sit within 3 miles of central LU1, and 87% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.

How much crime is there in LU1?

827 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of central LU1 in August 2026, most commonly violent crime (Police.uk).

Is LU1 at risk of flooding?

Central LU1 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 LU1 a good place to live?

That depends on what you need, so here is what the official data says rather than an opinion: 87% of nearby schools are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted; the median home sells for £268,000; the area sits in decile 2 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation; 827 crimes were recorded within about a mile. Every one of those figures names its source on this page.

Is LU1 safe?

827 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of central LU1 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 LU1 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.