Which has the lower district median?
Balham: £700,000. Islington: £650,000.
Islington is lower in this 24-month sample.
Balham (SW12) or Islington (N1): an area comparison
Islington has the lower recorded-sale median by £50,000. The cards below show how the two areas compare on prices, schools, green space, local profile and transport.
The short answer
Which has the broader school register?
Balham: 11. Islington: 137 open establishments.
This is the size of each district's registered school base.
How does everyday access compare?
Bus nodes: SW12 40, N1 159. mapped green-space sites: SW12 14, N1 148.
These counts show the scale of each district's transport and outdoor offer.
The broad price gap is £50,000 across the 24-month samples. That gives Islington the lower starting point, while the remaining sections show where the two district profiles differ.
Balham has 11 registered schools, 14 mapped green-space sites and 40 bus nodes. Islington has 137, 148 and 159 respectively.
District prices
SW12 recorded 841 completed sales in the 24-month sample. The median was £700,000. The £869,402 average is higher because a small number of expensive sales can lift it.
N1 recorded 1,573 completed sales in the 24-month sample. The median was £650,000. The £904,448 average is higher because a small number of expensive sales can lift it.
SW12
- Median recorded sale
- £700,000
- Average recorded sale
- £869,402
- Recorded sales
- 841 (24 months)
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data. local 2025-2026 bulk snapshot. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
How this was counted
Postcode district. non-deleted recorded sales in preceding 24 months.
N1
- Median recorded sale
- £650,000
- Average recorded sale
- £904,448
- Recorded sales
- 1,573 (24 months)
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data. local 2025-2026 bulk snapshot. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
How this was counted
Postcode district. non-deleted recorded sales in preceding 24 months.
Crime and serious-crime share
Police.uk records 3,361 reports from 2025-07 to 2026-06. Violence and sexual offences, robbery, burglary and weapons-possession reports account for 873, or 26.0% of the total.
Police.uk records 16,390 reports from 2025-07 to 2026-06. Violence and sexual offences, robbery, burglary and weapons-possession reports account for 4,678, or 28.5% of the total.
SW12
- Reported crime, 12 months
- 3,361
- Selected report-category share
- 873 (26.0%)
data.police.uk street-level crime custom download. 2025-07 to 2026-06; seven verified programme forces. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. Police.uk anonymised coordinates assigned to nearest Code-Point Open centroid; selected-category share is not an official severity rate.
N1
- Reported crime, 12 months
- 16,390
- Selected report-category share
- 4,678 (28.5%)
data.police.uk street-level crime custom download. 2025-07 to 2026-06; seven verified programme forces. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. Police.uk anonymised coordinates assigned to nearest Code-Point Open centroid; selected-category share is not an official severity rate.
Local-area deprivation context
IMD is a Government local-area scale from 1 to 10: 1 is the poorer end, while 10 is the more well-off end. SW12 has a median of 7.0. 0.3% of mapped postcode units are in the poorer 1 to 3 band and 42.6% are in the more well-off 8 to 10 band.
IMD is a Government local-area scale from 1 to 10: 1 is the poorer end, while 10 is the more well-off end. N1 has a median of 4.0. 47.7% of mapped postcode units are in the poorer 1 to 3 band and 6.1% are in the more well-off 8 to 10 band.
SW12
- Median IMD decile
- 7.0 / 10
- Postcode units in deciles 1–3
- 0.3%
- Postcode units in deciles 8–10
- 42.6%
MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation postcode download. 2025. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. distribution of official IMD25 postcode assignments; England only.
N1
- Median IMD decile
- 4.0 / 10
- Postcode units in deciles 1–3
- 47.7%
- Postcode units in deciles 8–10
- 6.1%
MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation postcode download. 2025. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. distribution of official IMD25 postcode assignments; England only.
Schools
The register lists 11 open establishments in SW12. It is a useful picture of the local school base, across the phases shown in the card below.
The register lists 137 open establishments in N1. It is a useful picture of the local school base, across the phases shown in the card below.
SW12
- Registered school sites
- 11 (16 plus: 1, Nursery: 1, Primary: 7, Secondary: 2)
DfE Get Information about Schools establishment register. 2026-08-02. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. open GIAS establishments grouped by registered postcode district.
N1
- Registered school sites
- 137 (16 plus: 4, All-through: 2, Nursery: 6, Primary: 104, Secondary: 21)
DfE Get Information about Schools establishment register. 2026-08-02. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. open GIAS establishments grouped by registered postcode district.
Green space and outdoor sport
OS maps 14 green-space or outdoor-sport sites covering 59.67 hectares, including 1 public parks or gardens. This gives the district a substantial mapped outdoor offer.
OS maps 148 green-space or outdoor-sport sites covering 39.14 hectares, including 42 public parks or gardens. This gives the district a substantial mapped outdoor offer.
SW12
- Mapped OS green-space sites
- 14
- Mapped site area
- 59.67 ha
- Public parks or gardens
- 1
OS Open Greenspace. April 2026 programme-city tile manifest. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. OS Open Greenspace April 2026 site polygon geometric centroid assigned to nearest Code-Point Open postcode centroid.
N1
- Mapped OS green-space sites
- 148
- Mapped site area
- 39.14 ha
- Public parks or gardens
- 42
OS Open Greenspace. April 2026 programme-city tile manifest. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. OS Open Greenspace April 2026 site polygon geometric centroid assigned to nearest Code-Point Open postcode centroid.
Flood context
The source covers 594 postcode units. 120 have high-risk surrounding addresses and 138 have medium-risk surroundings.
The source covers 8,533 postcode units. 2,184 have high-risk surrounding addresses and 2,169 have medium-risk surroundings.
SW12
- Postcode units in source
- 594
- Units with high-risk surroundings
- 120
- Units with medium-risk surroundings
- 138
Environment Agency Flood risk: postcode search tool data. 2026-07-10. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. sum of Environment Agency postcode source counts by outward postcode; counts concern areas around addresses, not a named property.
N1
- Postcode units in source
- 8,533
- Units with high-risk surroundings
- 2,184
- Units with medium-risk surroundings
- 2,169
Environment Agency Flood risk: postcode search tool data. 2026-07-10. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. sum of Environment Agency postcode source counts by outward postcode; counts concern areas around addresses, not a named property.
Air quality
The 2024 modelled annual-mean NO₂ median is 18.2 µg/m³. 100.0% of mapped units exceed the WHO 10 µg/m³ guideline and 0.0% meet or exceed 40 µg/m³.
The 2024 modelled annual-mean NO₂ median is 25.6 µg/m³. 100.0% of mapped units exceed the WHO 10 µg/m³ guideline and 0.0% meet or exceed 40 µg/m³.
SW12
- Median annual mean NO₂
- 18.2 µg/m³
- Postcode units above WHO 10 µg/m³
- 100.0%
- Postcode units at or above legal 40 µg/m³
- 0.0%
DEFRA Pollution Climate Mapping annual-mean NO2 grid. 2024. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. DEFRA PCM 2024 1 km modelled annual-mean NO2 looked up at each Code-Point Open postcode centroid; postcode-unit weighted district summary.
N1
- Median annual mean NO₂
- 25.6 µg/m³
- Postcode units above WHO 10 µg/m³
- 100.0%
- Postcode units at or above legal 40 µg/m³
- 0.0%
DEFRA Pollution Climate Mapping annual-mean NO2 grid. 2024. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. DEFRA PCM 2024 1 km modelled annual-mean NO2 looked up at each Code-Point Open postcode centroid; postcode-unit weighted district summary.
Transport access nodes
NaPTAN contains 40 active bus nodes and 11 rail, metro or tram nodes across SW12. Together, they describe the district-wide public-transport network.
NaPTAN contains 159 active bus nodes and 14 rail, metro or tram nodes across N1. Together, they describe the district-wide public-transport network.
SW12
- Active bus access nodes
- 40
- Active rail, metro or tram nodes
- 11
NaPTAN. 2026-08-02. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. active NaPTAN access node assigned to nearest Code-Point Open centroid.
N1
- Active bus access nodes
- 159
- Active rail, metro or tram nodes
- 14
NaPTAN. 2026-08-02. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. active NaPTAN access node assigned to nearest Code-Point Open centroid.
Broadband availability
The postcode-unit median maximum advertised download is 1,000 Mbit/s, with 100.0% full-fibre and 100.0% gigabit availability.
The postcode-unit median maximum advertised download is 1,000 Mbit/s, with 100.0% full-fibre and 100.0% gigabit availability.
SW12
- Median maximum advertised download
- 1,000 Mbit/s
- Median full-fibre availability
- 100.0%
- Median gigabit availability
- 100.0%
Ofcom Connected Nations. 2025. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. median across postcode units.
N1
- Median maximum advertised download
- 1,000 Mbit/s
- Median full-fibre availability
- 100.0%
- Median gigabit availability
- 100.0%
Ofcom Connected Nations. 2025. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. median across postcode units.
Road safety
DfT records 303 personal-injury collisions in 2022 to 24: 0 fatal, 43 serious and 260 slight.
DfT records 702 personal-injury collisions in 2022 to 24: 2 fatal, 132 serious and 568 slight.
SW12
- Reported collisions, 2022–24 (raw count)
- 303
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 43
- Slight
- 260
DfT STATS19 Road Safety Data. 2022-2024 collision files. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. 2022–24 STATS19 collision assigned to nearest Code-Point Open centroid.
N1
- Reported collisions, 2022–24 (raw count)
- 702
- Fatal
- 2
- Serious
- 132
- Slight
- 568
DfT STATS19 Road Safety Data. 2022-2024 collision files. Original download date not recorded.
How this was counted
Postcode district. 2022–24 STATS19 collision assigned to nearest Code-Point Open centroid.
Sources and method
- HM Land Registry Price Paid Data. local 2025-2026 bulk snapshot. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- data.police.uk street-level crime custom download. 2025-07 to 2026-06; seven verified programme forces. Original download date not recorded.
- MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation postcode download. 2025. Original download date not recorded.
- DfE Get Information about Schools establishment register. 2026-08-02. Original download date not recorded.
- OS Open Greenspace. April 2026 programme-city tile manifest. Original download date not recorded.
- Environment Agency Flood risk: postcode search tool data. 2026-07-10. Original download date not recorded.
- DEFRA Pollution Climate Mapping annual-mean NO2 grid. 2024. Original download date not recorded.
- NaPTAN. 2026-08-02. Original download date not recorded.
- Ofcom Connected Nations. 2025. Original download date not recorded.
- DfT STATS19 Road Safety Data. 2022-2024 collision files. Original download date not recorded.
For an address-specific desk check, Property Diligence’s paid report adds the more detailed property-level information available from public sources.