MK42
Postcode districtPostcode district covering Kempston and South End, in Bedford.
Approximate outline worked out by Open Index from the ONS Postcode Directory: each census output area belongs to the district that holds most of its postcodes. People, homes, recorded crime and broadband add up those output areas. House sales count every sale with an MK42 postcode. How census figures are added up
Gigabit coverage by postcode district
Connected Nations (Ofcom) · January 2026
In MK42, 93.7% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026.
How MK42 compares
Each dot is a postcode district. The black line marks the middle one.
Is MK42 safe? What police records show
In the 12 months to August 2026, police recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour in MK42 at a rate of 113.1 per 1,000 people.
That compares with 87.5 per 1,000 people across MK.
In August 2026 alone, 695 cases of crime and anti-social behaviour were recorded in MK42.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the most common types were violence and sexual offences (2,319), other crime (1,189) and anti-social behaviour (1,057).
A year earlier, the recorded crime rate in MK42 was 111.5 per 1,000 people.
Worked out by Open Index from police.uk crime records and ONS and NISRA population estimates.
Rates are per resident, so places that many people work in or visit, such as Westminster, the City of London and other city centres, have far higher rates than their residents alone would suggest.
Deprivation in MK42, neighbourhood by neighbourhood
- Deprivation is ranked by neighbourhood, so MK42 has no single figure. Of its 35 neighbourhoods with a rank:
- Decile 1 (England’s most deprived 10%): 2 neighbourhoods
- Decile 2: 5 neighbourhoods
- Decile 3: 5 neighbourhoods
- Decile 4: 6 neighbourhoods
- Decile 5: 2 neighbourhoods
- Decile 6: 7 neighbourhoods
- Decile 7: 6 neighbourhoods
- Decile 8: 2 neighbourhoods
English Indices of Deprivation 2025. Decile 1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods in England.
Neighbourhoods in MK42
| Name | People (census) | Recorded crime per 1,000 | Deprivation decile | Gigabit broadband |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford 014A | 1,736 | 116.7 per 1,000 | 4 | 98.2% |
| Bedford 014B | 1,635 | 199.8 per 1,000 | 2 | 98.1% |
| Bedford 014C | 1,827 | 91.1 per 1,000 | 4 | 75.4% |
| Bedford 014D | 1,642 | 86.7 per 1,000 | 4 | 97.1% |
| Bedford 014E | 2,087 | 386.7 per 1,000 | 3 | 82.3% |
| Bedford 014F | 1,756 | 88.9 per 1,000 | 2 | 100.0% |
| Bedford 015A | 1,540 | 97.1 per 1,000 | 2 | 99.3% |
| Bedford 015C | 1,881 | 133.8 per 1,000 | 1 | 95.7% |
| Bedford 015D | 1,631 | 150.5 per 1,000 | 4 | 97.0% |
| Bedford 015E | 1,525 | 51.3 per 1,000 | 5 | 99.7% |
| Bedford 015F | 1,341 | 107.3 per 1,000 | 1 | 99.1% |
| Bedford 015G | 1,889 | 296.3 per 1,000 | 2 | 82.1% |
| Bedford 015H | 1,559 | 125.1 per 1,000 | 4 | 63.8% |
| Bedford 016A | 1,230 | 50.0 per 1,000 | 2 | 81.7% |
| Bedford 016B | 1,589 | 48.8 per 1,000 | 6 | 94.0% |
| Bedford 016C | 1,183 | 58.4 per 1,000 | 6 | 100.0% |
| Bedford 016D | 1,505 | 116.9 per 1,000 | 3 | 96.9% |
| Bedford 017A | 1,549 | 129.2 per 1,000 | 5 | 97.9% |
| Bedford 017B | 1,569 | 58.0 per 1,000 | 3 | 96.4% |
| Bedford 017C | 1,391 | 53.7 per 1,000 | 6 | 99.8% |
| Bedford 017D | 1,698 | 97.5 per 1,000 | 6 | 99.3% |
| Bedford 018A | 1,477 | 79.9 per 1,000 | 6 | 99.7% |
| Bedford 018B | 1,725 | 318.1 per 1,000 | 3 | 96.9% |
| Bedford 018C | 1,651 | 69.9 per 1,000 | 3 | 98.9% |
| Bedford 018E | 1,568 | 79.2 per 1,000 | 7 | 96.0% |
| Bedford 018F | 1,540 | 58.1 per 1,000 | 8 | 98.4% |
| Bedford 018G | 1,061 | 113.6 per 1,000 | 7 | 100.0% |
| Bedford 018H | 1,540 | 65.5 per 1,000 | 8 | 93.9% |
| Bedford 021A | 1,493 | 76.3 per 1,000 | 7 | 77.5% |
| Bedford 021B | 1,945 | 77.7 per 1,000 | 4 | 96.9% |
| Bedford 021C | 1,402 | 56.6 per 1,000 | 7 | 98.5% |
| Bedford 022A | 1,914 | 68.8 per 1,000 | 6 | 96.3% |
| Bedford 022B | 1,240 | 146.9 per 1,000 | 7 | 96.8% |
| Bedford 022C | 2,406 | 109.9 per 1,000 | 7 | 94.7% |
| Bedford 022D | 2,037 | 50.6 per 1,000 | 6 | 96.9% |
MPs for MK42
- Mohammad YasinLabourMP for Bedford71% of MK42’s postcodes
- Blake StephensonConservativeMP for Mid Bedfordshire15% of MK42’s postcodes
- Richard FullerConservativeMP for North Bedfordshire14% of MK42’s postcodes
As of , from the UK Parliament Members API. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. Source: UK Parliament, Members API.
Middle areas in MK427
Postcode sectors in MK426
Council1
Towns in MK422
Postcode districts next to MK426
Nearest rail stations4
More in the MK postcode area2
MK42 in brief
MK42 is a postcode district covering Kempston and South End, in Bedford.
About 61,031 people lived in MK42 in mid-2024 (worked out by Open Index from ONS small-area estimates); the median price paid for a home was £320,000 in 2025 across 755 sales (HM Land Registry) and police recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour at a rate of 113.1 per 1,000 people in the 12 months to August 2026 (police.uk).
The median price paid for a home in MK42 was £320,000 in 2025.
MK42 had 56,180 usual residents at the census.
In MK42, 93.7% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026.
In MK42, 5.0% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026.