Is Islington a good place to live?
Islington scores 60 out of 100 on our Liveability index, 1st of London's 33 boroughs. It does best on transport (94) and shops and services (86), and least well on safety (4). The highest-scoring wards are Clerkenwell, Highbury and St Mary's & St James'.
Each part compares Islington 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 Islington safe?
Police recorded about 3,599 crimes a month in Islington from June to August 2026, about 250 per square kilometre, above the London borough median of 63. The most common were anti-social behaviour (23%), violence and sexual offences (21%) and shoplifting (14%).
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 Islington flood?
About 0% of Islington'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. Almost none 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 Islington?
Islington has 40 state primary and 10 state secondary schools, plus 5 independent schools. Of the state schools with a current single Ofsted grade, 98% are good or outstanding and 24% are outstanding, against a London borough median of 24% outstanding. Outstanding schools include Gillespie Primary School, Winton Primary School and Yerbury Primary 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 Islington?
Islington has 15 Underground, Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR or tram stations on the Northern, Piccadilly, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Elizabeth line and more, in fare zones 1, 2 and 3. About 88% 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 Islington?
The average home in Islington cost £679,463 in March 2026 (HM Land Registry), down 0.4% over five years. The average private rent was £2,811 a month (ONS, May 2026 release), a gross yield of about 5%. Homes cost 14.4 times average local earnings.
What is the air quality like in Islington?
Nitrogen dioxide averaged 26 µg/m³ across Islington 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 10 µg/m³ against a guideline of 5. Air is usually worst beside main roads.
What are the shops, parks and GPs like in Islington?
OpenStreetMap lists 40 supermarkets, 38 GP surgeries and 35 pharmacies in Islington, and 104 public parks covering about 72 hectares. About 40% of the borough is in a conservation area, where outside changes usually need permission.
How deprived is Islington?
The typical neighbourhood in Islington is in decile 4 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England and 10 the least. About 22% of the borough is in the most deprived fifth.
Which parts of Islington score best?
The highest Liveability scores in Islington are in Clerkenwell, Highbury and St Mary's & St James', and the lowest in Tufnell Park and Finsbury Park. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clerkenwell | 63 | 2 | 98 | 90 | 67 | 65 |
| Highbury | 63 | 8 | 91 | 82 | 59 | 86 |
| St Mary's & St James' | 63 | 4 | 95 | 92 | 69 | 88 |
| Laycock | 62 | 5 | 95 | 89 | 68 | 91 |
| St Peter's & Canalside | 62 | 2 | 92 | 83 | 64 | 92 |
| Junction | 62 | 6 | 89 | 81 | 68 | 84 |
| Bunhill | 61 | 2 | 98 | 92 | 54 | 73 |
| Holloway | 60 | 4 | 95 | 86 | 48 | 81 |
| Mildmay | 60 | 4 | 93 | 81 | 56 | 77 |
| Tollington | 60 | 2 | 91 | 92 | 62 | 81 |
| Caledonian | 59 | 3 | 97 | 89 | 56 | 76 |
| Arsenal | 58 | 3 | 97 | 81 | 42 | 76 |
| Barnsbury | 58 | 2 | 88 | 85 | 68 | 69 |
| Canonbury | 58 | 8 | 91 | 91 | 56 | 75 |
| Hillrise | 58 | 7 | 83 | 75 | 62 | 86 |
| Tufnell Park | 58 | 8 | 84 | 84 | 38 | 88 |
| Finsbury Park | 57 | 1 | 98 | 81 | 56 | 68 |
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.