Is the City of London a good place to live?
The City of London scores 58 out of 100 on our Liveability index, 10th of London's 33 boroughs. It does best on transport (100) and shops and services (94), and least well on safety (3). The highest-scoring wards are Bishopsgate, Coleman Street and Cripplegate.
Each part compares the City of London with the rest of London, where 100 is the best. The score uses our default weights; on the map you can set your own.
Is the City of London safe?
Police recorded about 544 crimes a month in the City of London from June to August 2026, about 219 per square kilometre, above the London borough median of 63. The most common were other theft (21%), theft from the person (16%) and violence and sexual offences (15%).
The City has a very small resident population and huge daytime footfall, so crime per square kilometre is not a fair measure of risk to residents. Recorded crime follows footfall: busy town centres and transport hubs record more, which says little about quiet residential streets. Check the exact street with an area report.
Does the City of London flood?
About 13% of the City of London's land is in Flood Zone 2 or 3, the Environment Agency's zones for flooding from rivers or the sea, against 13% across London. About 10% sits in Flood Zone 3, the highest risk band. The zones ignore flood defences and do not cover surface water flooding.
Are there good schools in the City of London?
The City of London has 1 state primary and 0 state secondary schools, plus 4 independent schools. Of the state schools with a current single Ofsted grade, 100% are good or outstanding and 100% are outstanding, against a London borough median of 24% outstanding. Outstanding schools include The Aldgate School.
Ofsted stopped giving a single overall grade in September 2024, so recently inspected schools have none. Always check admissions and catchment rules with the school or council.
How good is public transport in the City of London?
The City of London has 10 Underground, Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR or tram stations on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, District, National Rail and Central and more, in fare zone 1. About 100% of the borough has good or better access (TfL PTAL 4 to 6b), against 15% of London.
How much does it cost to live in the City of London?
The average home in the City of London cost £594,961 in March 2026 (HM Land Registry), down 31.2% over five years. Homes cost 16.1 times average local earnings.
What is the air quality like in the City of London?
Nitrogen dioxide averaged 31 µg/m³ across the City of London in 2022 (London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory), against a London median of 20 and a World Health Organization guideline of 10. Fine particles (PM2.5) averaged 11 µg/m³ against a guideline of 5. Air is usually worst beside main roads.
What are the shops, parks and GPs like in the City of London?
OpenStreetMap lists 6 supermarkets, 34 GP surgeries and 7 pharmacies in the City of London, and 10 public parks covering about 2 hectares. About 44% of the borough is in a conservation area, where outside changes usually need permission.
How deprived is the City of London?
The typical neighbourhood in the City of London is in decile 8 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England and 10 the least. About 0% of the borough is in the most deprived fifth.
Which parts of the City of London score best?
The highest Liveability scores in the City of London are in Bishopsgate, Coleman Street and Cripplegate, and the lowest in Vintry and Queenhithe. Every ward is below, with its scores for safety, transport, shops, green space and schools out of 100.
| Ward | Liveability | Safety | Transport | Shops | Green | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishopsgate | 62 | 1 | 100 | 93 | 51 | 56 |
| Coleman Street | 62 | 3 | 100 | 94 | 42 | 59 |
| Cripplegate | 62 | 3 | 100 | 94 | 42 | 59 |
| Aldersgate | 61 | 3 | 99 | 93 | 49 | 57 |
| Farringdon Within | 60 | 4 | 100 | 94 | 50 | 44 |
| Bread Street | 58 | 4 | 100 | 94 | 50 | 31 |
| Broad Street | 58 | 3 | 100 | 94 | 39 | 45 |
| Cornhill | 58 | 3 | 100 | 94 | 39 | 45 |
| Lime Street | 58 | 3 | 100 | 94 | 39 | 45 |
| Aldgate | 57 | 1 | 100 | 95 | 30 | 77 |
| Bassishaw | 57 | 5 | 100 | 97 | 32 | 39 |
| Cheap | 57 | 5 | 100 | 97 | 32 | 39 |
| Walbrook | 57 | 5 | 100 | 97 | 32 | 39 |
| Billingsgate | 54 | 1 | 100 | 94 | 26 | 32 |
| Bridge | 54 | 1 | 100 | 94 | 26 | 32 |
| Candlewick | 54 | 1 | 100 | 94 | 26 | 32 |
| Castle Baynard | 54 | 5 | 100 | 87 | 31 | 27 |
| Langbourn | 54 | 1 | 100 | 94 | 26 | 32 |
| Cordwainer | 51 | 2 | 100 | 97 | 24 | 36 |
| Dowgate | 51 | 2 | 100 | 97 | 24 | 36 |
| Vintry | 51 | 2 | 100 | 97 | 24 | 36 |
| Queenhithe | 48 | 2 | 99 | 83 | 39 | 31 |
Nearby areas
Where these numbers come from
- Crime: police.uk street-level crime, June to August 2026, averaged per month.
- Flood zones and conservation areas: Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning and local authority conservation areas, via planning.data.gov.uk.
- Schools: Department for Education Get Information About Schools, with Ofsted grades.
- Transport: TfL stations and PTAL 2023. Air quality: London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory 2022.
- Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (March 2026) and ONS private rents (May 2026 release) and affordability ratios.
- Shops, GPs and parks: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Deprivation: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG).
- Liveability: our score for each ~500 m square of London, built from the sources above; borough and ward figures are medians of their squares.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right. © OpenStreetMap contributors. Powered by TfL Open Data.