Which has the lower district median?
Chelsea: £1,250,000. Kensington: £1,482,500.
Chelsea is lower in this 24-month sample.
Chelsea (SW3) or Kensington (W8): an area comparison
Chelsea has the lower recorded-sale median by £232,500. 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?
Chelsea: 6. Kensington: 4 open establishments.
This is the size of each district's registered school base.
How does everyday access compare?
Bus nodes: SW3 49, W8 29. mapped green-space sites: SW3 31, W8 15.
These counts show the scale of each district's transport and outdoor offer.
The broad price gap is £232,500 across the 24-month samples. That gives Chelsea the lower starting point, while the remaining sections show where the two district profiles differ.
Chelsea has 6 registered schools, 31 mapped green-space sites and 49 bus nodes. Kensington has 4, 15 and 29 respectively.
District prices
SW3 recorded 509 completed sales in the 24-month sample. The median was £1,250,000. The £2,431,981 average is higher because a small number of expensive sales can lift it.
W8 recorded 466 completed sales in the 24-month sample. The median was £1,482,500. The £2,521,410 average is higher because a small number of expensive sales can lift it.
SW3
- Median recorded sale
- £1,250,000
- Average recorded sale
- £2,431,981
- Recorded sales
- 509 (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.
W8
- Median recorded sale
- £1,482,500
- Average recorded sale
- £2,521,410
- Recorded sales
- 466 (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 3,872 reports from 2025-07 to 2026-06. Violence and sexual offences, robbery, burglary and weapons-possession reports account for 817, or 21.1% of the total.
Police.uk records 2,739 reports from 2025-07 to 2026-06. Violence and sexual offences, robbery, burglary and weapons-possession reports account for 765, or 27.9% of the total.
SW3
- Reported crime, 12 months
- 3,872
- Selected report-category share
- 817 (21.1%)
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.
W8
- Reported crime, 12 months
- 2,739
- Selected report-category share
- 765 (27.9%)
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. SW3 has a median of 7.0. 12.8% of mapped postcode units are in the poorer 1 to 3 band and 42.4% 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. W8 has a median of 8.0. 0.0% of mapped postcode units are in the poorer 1 to 3 band and 89.1% are in the more well-off 8 to 10 band.
SW3
- Median IMD decile
- 7.0 / 10
- Postcode units in deciles 1–3
- 12.8%
- Postcode units in deciles 8–10
- 42.4%
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.
W8
- Median IMD decile
- 8.0 / 10
- Postcode units in deciles 1–3
- 0.0%
- Postcode units in deciles 8–10
- 89.1%
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 6 open establishments in SW3. It is a useful picture of the local school base, across the phases shown in the card below.
The register lists 4 open establishments in W8. It is a useful picture of the local school base, across the phases shown in the card below.
SW3
- Registered school sites
- 6 (Nursery: 1, Primary: 4, Secondary: 1)
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.
W8
- Registered school sites
- 4 (Primary: 3, Secondary: 1)
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 31 green-space or outdoor-sport sites covering 14.60 hectares, including 14 public parks or gardens. This gives the district a substantial mapped outdoor offer.
OS maps 15 green-space or outdoor-sport sites covering 25.14 hectares, including 10 public parks or gardens. This gives the district a substantial mapped outdoor offer.
SW3
- Mapped OS green-space sites
- 31
- Mapped site area
- 14.60 ha
- Public parks or gardens
- 14
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.
W8
- Mapped OS green-space sites
- 15
- Mapped site area
- 25.14 ha
- Public parks or gardens
- 10
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 847 postcode units. 118 have high-risk surrounding addresses and 221 have medium-risk surroundings.
The source covers 678 postcode units. 88 have high-risk surrounding addresses and 155 have medium-risk surroundings.
SW3
- Postcode units in source
- 847
- Units with high-risk surroundings
- 118
- Units with medium-risk surroundings
- 221
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.
W8
- Postcode units in source
- 678
- Units with high-risk surroundings
- 88
- Units with medium-risk surroundings
- 155
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 24.9 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 24.0 µg/m³. 100.0% of mapped units exceed the WHO 10 µg/m³ guideline and 0.0% meet or exceed 40 µg/m³.
SW3
- Median annual mean NO₂
- 24.9 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.
W8
- Median annual mean NO₂
- 24.0 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 49 active bus nodes and 6 rail, metro or tram nodes across SW3. Together, they describe the district-wide public-transport network.
NaPTAN contains 29 active bus nodes and 4 rail, metro or tram nodes across W8. Together, they describe the district-wide public-transport network.
SW3
- Active bus access nodes
- 49
- Active rail, metro or tram nodes
- 6
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.
W8
- Active bus access nodes
- 29
- Active rail, metro or tram nodes
- 4
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.
SW3
- 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.
W8
- 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 335 personal-injury collisions in 2022 to 24: 2 fatal, 61 serious and 272 slight.
DfT records 240 personal-injury collisions in 2022 to 24: 3 fatal, 44 serious and 193 slight.
SW3
- Reported collisions, 2022–24 (raw count)
- 335
- Fatal
- 2
- Serious
- 61
- Slight
- 272
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.
W8
- Reported collisions, 2022–24 (raw count)
- 240
- Fatal
- 3
- Serious
- 44
- Slight
- 193
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.