Side-by-side comparison

E8 vs N1

London Fields, Hackney compared with St Mary's & St James', Islington, scored on the things families actually care about.

The short verdict

E8 and N1 are evenly matched overall. The right pick depends on which trade-off matters more to your family.

Category by category

Every score is a percentile within our London cohort: higher is better. Trophies mark the area that's clearly ahead (within 3 points we call it a tie).

Schools

Density and proximity of primary and secondary schools within 1 mile.

E8
100
N1
100
Safety

Inverted crime rate from data.police.uk, latest available month.

E8
6
N1
3
Green space

Access to parks and open space within walking distance.

E8
100
N1
100
Family life

GP surgeries, libraries, supermarkets and parks within 1km.

E8
85
N1
90
Commute

Fastest door-to-door time to one of six central hubs (Waterloo, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf, Paddington, Victoria), arriving by 08:15. Source: TfL Journey Planner.

E8
Good · 25–35 min
29 minto Liverpool Street
N1
Excellent · Under 25 min
17 minto King's Cross
Faster commute
Council Tax (Band D)

Annual bill incl. GLA precept, 2025/26. Where an outcode straddles boroughs, every touching borough is listed.

E8
Hackney£2,054
N1
Islington£2,008
Hackney£2,054
Family density

% of households with dependent children at the representative LSOA. Source: ONS Census 2021 (TS003). Ranked within the SettleWithUs London cohort.

E8
Average · 22–27%
27.5%of households with kids
N1
High · 28–34%
29.6%of households with kids
More family-dense

What's within walking distance

Raw counts within 1km, useful when the percentile scores look close but the on-the-ground feel isn't.

E8
Parks
21
GP surgeries
5
Libraries
1
Supermarkets
4
Schools (1mi)
46
Crimes/mo
1667
N1
Parks
42
GP surgeries
6
Libraries
1
Supermarkets
7
Schools (1mi)
49
Crimes/mo
1854

Generated 17 May 2026.

More E8 comparisons

How we score E8 and N1

The short answer to the questions families ask us most when comparing two areas.

How is the overall Family Score for E8 and N1 calculated?
The overall Family Score is a weighted blend of five sub-scores: schools, safety, green space, family life (GP surgeries, libraries, supermarkets, parks within 1km) and commute. Schools and safety carry the most weight, because they're what most families ask about first. Each sub-score is a percentile within our London cohort, so a 90 means "top 10% of London postcodes we've scored", not an absolute rating.
What does "better for families" actually mean here?
It means the area scores higher on the blend of factors most families weigh when relocating with children: school density and proximity, neighbourhood safety, access to parks and green space, and everyday family infrastructure like GP surgeries and supermarkets within walking distance. It's not a verdict on culture, nightlife, or whether you'll personally feel at home. Those are subjective and we don't pretend to score them.
Where does the data come from?
Schools come from OpenStreetMap today (we're swapping in DfE GIAS + Ofsted ratings for v1). Crime is from data.police.uk, latest available month. Parks, GP surgeries, libraries and supermarkets are counted from OpenStreetMap within a 1km radius of the postcode centroid. Commute times come from TfL Journey Planner — door-to-door from the representative postcode to six central hubs, arriving by 08:15 on a weekday.
Why is the difference between E8 and N1 sometimes only a few points?
Because they're scored on the same London-wide curve. Two neighbouring postcodes often share the same schools, the same green space, and the same crime patterns, so their scores end up close. We call any gap under 3 points a tie. Within that range, the right pick depends on which trade-off matters more to your family.

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