Living in W1B, Westminster
What the open data says about house prices, schools, crime and flood risk around W1B in Westminster. Built from the same sources as every property report on this site, not opinion or marketing copy.
- The average sold price in Westminster is £876,788 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index).
- Prices across Westminster are down 20.7% on a year ago (UK House Price Index). The index for Westminster rests on 84 recorded sales in May 2026, the newest month with a count. July 2026 is a first estimate, which HM Land Registry revises as more sales are registered.
- Of the 213 schools within about 3 miles, 88% are rated Good or Outstanding, against 90% of state schools in England (Ofsted).
- The centre of W1B is in flood zone 1 (low probability), on the Environment Agency flood map for planning.
- A Band D household in Westminster pays £1,050 in council tax for 2026-27, every precept included (MHCLG).
- Police recorded 4,418 crimes within roughly a mile of the centre in August 2026, most commonly other theft (Police.uk).
Figures gathered 16 October 2026, each from the source named in its section.
House prices
Average price in Westminster: £876,788, down 20.7% on a year ago (July 2026). The index for Westminster rests on 84 recorded sales in May 2026, the newest month with a count. July 2026 is a first estimate, which HM Land Registry revises as more sales are registered. The wider London average is £550,037.
Check sold prices for a specific address in W1B →
See where W1B ranks across London →
Council tax at Band D in Westminster: £1,050 a year (2026-27). Running costs by postcode: council tax, energy, tenure, and the estate charge no listing shows →
Compare W1B with another district
Sold prices, the price trend, schools, flood zone, Band D council tax and crime for W1B against any other district, each from the source the section below names.
What actually sold around W1B
Only 2 home sales recorded on the streets around central W1B in the last 2 years, too few to average meaningfully. Here they are in full instead. A district with very few residential sales is usually mostly commercial.
| Address | Type | Sold for | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment 3 8 Maddox Street, W1S 1NR | Flat or maisonette | £3,030,000 | 2 Oct 2025 |
| Apartment 5 8 Maddox Street, W1S 1NR | Flat or maisonette | £4,125,000 | 24 Feb 2025 |
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
213 schools within 3 miles , of which 88% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.
| Nearest well-rated schools | Stage | Ofsted | Distance | Admitted from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Vincent's Catholic Primary School | Primary | Outstanding | 0.6 mi away | no figure |
| St George the Martyr Church of England Primary School | Primary | Outstanding | 1.2 mi away | no figure |
| Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School | Primary | Outstanding | 1.2 mi away | 0.49 mi 2024/25 |
| The Grey Coat Hospital | Secondary | Outstanding | 1.3 mi away | no figure |
| Ark King Solomon Academy | Secondary | Outstanding | 1.3 mi away | no figure |
| Edith Neville Primary School | Primary | Outstanding | 1.3 mi away | no figure |
Will an address here get a place? How far Westminster schools admitted from, school by school →
101 state primary and 25 state secondary schools within range, plus 62 fee-paying schools.
Private schools
62 fee-paying schools within 3 miles: Alleyns Regents Park Prep, Arnold House School, Brighton College Prep Kensington, Broadhurst School, Cameron Vale School, Charterhouse Square School and others.
All 62 fee-paying schools near W1B, 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
21 higher education institutions within 3 miles: Birkbeck College, Central School of Speech and Drama, City University, Courtauld Institute of Art, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Institute of Cancer Research and others.
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 group | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Professional occupations | 29.8% |
| Managers, directors and senior officials | 24.9% |
| Associate professional and technical | 18.1% |
| Sales and customer service | 6.7% |
| Administrative and secretarial | 6.2% |
Source: ONS Census 2021, table TS063, for this district's small area.
How W1B has changed since 2011
The biggest move: white residents, down 8.9 points since 2011, with England's change beside each line.
How to read this
The census neighbourhood at the centre of W1B (E01035716, 2,191 residents in 2021, down 9.1% 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: white residents, down 8.9 points.
| Measure | 2011 | 2021 | Change | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 14.8% | 15.5% | +0.7 pts | -2.0 pts |
| Households renting privately | 43.5% | 44.5% | +1.0 pts | +3.7 pts |
| Households renting socially | 37.4% | 39.4% | +2.0 pts | -0.6 pts |
| Residents under 15 | 8.4% | 7.9% | -0.5 pts | -0.3 pts |
| Residents 65 and over | 11.9% | 11.3% | -0.6 pts | +2.1 pts |
| Adults with a degree or equivalent | 52.3% | 60.3% | +8.0 pts | +6.5 pts |
| Residents born outside the UK | 53.5% | 56.5% | +3.0 pts | +3.6 pts |
| Residents in good or very good health | 82.8% | 84.5% | +1.7 pts | +0.8 pts |
| Residents in a white ethnic group | 70.8% | 61.9% | -8.9 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
4,418 crimes recorded within roughly a mile of central W1B in August 2026, most commonly other theft.
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 4 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (moderately deprived ), based on Westminster's figures.
Getting around & nearby essentials
44 supermarkets, 45 pharmacies, 2,785 restaurants and cafés, 172 pubs, 39 hospitals within a mile of central W1B, hospitals within three miles.
Buses from the centre of W1B
Best-served stop: Great Titchfield Street / Oxford Circus Station, with 30.2 buses an hour on weekday daytimes.
Evenings, Sundays and routes
The best-served stop within 800 m of the centre of W1B is Great Titchfield Street / Oxford Circus Station: 30.2 buses an hour on a weekday daytime, 27.0 in the evening and 24.9 on Sunday daytime; first bus 00:01, last 00:44. Routes there: 73, 55, 98, 390. 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 W1B. The nearest, Soho Centre for Health and Care, has 2,682 registered patients and 1,359 patients per fully qualified GP, against an England median of 2,186.
| Practice | From the centre | Patients | Per qualified GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soho Centre for Health and Care | 0.4 mi | 2,682 | 1,359 |
| Soho Square General Practice | 0.4 mi | 5,522 | 2,556 |
| Great Chapel Street Medical Centre | 0.4 mi | 474 | 268 |
Nearest A&E: Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, where 70.3% of type 1 attendances were seen within four hours in July 2026; then Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at 73.1%.
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 Westminster pays £1,050 for 2026-27, all precepts included, a rise of 3.0% on the year before against an England median rise of 4.8%. Every band for Westminster, and how it compares.
| Year | Band D bill | Rise |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | £829 | +6.0% |
| 2022-23 | £866 | +4.5% |
| 2023-24 | £914 | +5.5% |
| 2024-25 | £975 | +6.7% |
| 2025-26 | £1,019 | +4.5% |
| 2026-27 | £1,050 | +3.0% |
No exceptional financial support from government since 2020-21 and no section 114 notice on record for Westminster, as at 7 Sep 2026.
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 W1B
What is the average house price in W1B?
The average sold price in Westminster is £876,788 as of July 2026, according to the UK House Price Index.
Are house prices rising in W1B?
Prices in Westminster are down 20.7% on a year ago (UK House Price Index). The index for Westminster rests on 84 recorded sales in May 2026, the newest month with a count. July 2026 is a first estimate, which HM Land Registry revises as more sales are registered.
Are the schools good in W1B?
213 schools sit within 3 miles of central W1B, and 88% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.
How much crime is there in W1B?
4,418 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of central W1B in August 2026, most commonly other theft (Police.uk).
Is W1B at risk of flooding?
Central W1B 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 W1B 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 area sits in decile 4 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation; 4,418 crimes were recorded within about a mile. Every one of those figures names its source on this page.
Is W1B safe?
4,418 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of central W1B in August 2026, according to Police.uk. The most common category was other theft. 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 W1B 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.