London Postcodes Explained
You've found a room that looks perfect, but the listing just says "SW11" and you have no idea what that actually means or where it is. London's postcode system trips up almost everyone who hasn't lived here for years - it's not as simple as "the number tells you the distance from the centre." Here's how it actually works, plus a full guide to what's in each area.
How London postcodes actually work
A London postcode has two parts. Take SW11 4NP as an example:
- SW11 is the "outward code" - this is the part you'll see in property listings, and it's what tells you the general area
- 4NP is the "inward code" - this narrows it down to a specific street or small group of buildings, and you won't usually see it until you're given a full address
The letters (SW, N, E, and so on) tell you the compass direction from central London - straightforward enough. The number afterwards is where people get confused, because it doesn't mean what most people assume.
Every London postcode district, and what's there
London is split into 8 central postal areas (each divided into numbered districts), plus outer-London areas that use a town name instead of a direction. Here's the full district-by-district breakdown - with a link through to Delphi's listings wherever we already cover that neighbourhood.
E - East
One of the fastest-changing parts of London over the last decade - areas that were considered outer-fringe 15 years ago are now among the most sought-after for flatshares.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| E1 | Whitechapel, Stepney, Shoreditch (west) |
| E2 | Bethnal Green, Shoreditch (east) |
| E3 | Bow, Bromley-by-Bow, Mile End |
| E4 | Chingford |
| E5 | Clapton, Homerton |
| E6 | East Ham |
| E7 | Forest Gate, Upton Park |
| E8 | Hackney, Dalston |
| E9 | Hackney (south), Homerton |
| E10 | Leyton |
| E11 | Leytonstone, Wanstead |
| E12 | Manor Park |
| E13 | Plaistow |
| E14 | Canary Wharf, Poplar, Isle of Dogs |
| E15 | Stratford, West Ham |
| E16 | Canning Town, Silvertown |
| E17 | Walthamstow |
| E18 | South Woodford |
| E20 | Olympic Park, Stratford (added 2011) |
EC - East Central
The City of London and its immediate surroundings - dominated by offices, financial institutions, and historic legal buildings rather than homes.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| EC1 | Clerkenwell, Finsbury, Barbican, Old Street |
| EC2 | Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Shoreditch (south) |
| EC3 | Aldgate, Monument, Tower Hill |
| EC4 | Fleet Street, St Paul's, Blackfriars |
Mostly offices and institutions rather than residential flatshares - you'll see far fewer listings here than in the surrounding areas.
N - North
Popular with young professionals for its mix of period conversions and good transport links into the City - from Islington's Georgian terraces to the more laid-back streets around Crouch End and Muswell Hill further out.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| N1 | Islington, Angel, Hoxton |
| N2 | East Finchley |
| N3 | Finchley |
| N4 | Finsbury Park, Manor House |
| N5 | Highbury |
| N6 | Highgate |
| N7 | Holloway |
| N8 | Hornsey, Crouch End |
| N9 | Lower Edmonton |
| N10 | Muswell Hill |
| N11 | New Southgate, Friern Barnet |
| N12 | North Finchley |
| N13 | Palmers Green |
| N14 | Southgate |
| N15 | South Tottenham, Seven Sisters |
| N16 | Stoke Newington |
| N17 | Tottenham |
| N18 | Upper Edmonton |
| N19 | Archway, Upper Holloway |
| N20 | Whetstone |
| N21 | Winchmore Hill |
| N22 | Wood Green |
NW - North West
A genuinely wide range within one postal area - Hampstead is leafy and expensive, Kilburn is considerably more affordable, and it's all technically the same NW postcode.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| NW1 | Camden Town, Regent's Park, Euston |
| NW2 | Cricklewood, Willesden |
| NW3 | Hampstead, Belsize Park |
| NW4 | Hendon |
| NW5 | Kentish Town |
| NW6 | Kilburn, West Hampstead |
| NW7 | Mill Hill |
| NW8 | St John's Wood |
| NW9 | Colindale, Kingsbury |
| NW10 | Harlesden, Willesden, Kensal Green, Neasden |
| NW11 | Golders Green |
SE - South East
Generally more affordable than equivalent parts of North or West London, with strong transport links via the Overground and DLR - an area that's absorbed a lot of the demand priced out of SW and E in recent years.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| SE1 | Southwark, Waterloo, Borough, Elephant & Castle |
| SE2 | Abbey Wood |
| SE3 | Blackheath |
| SE4 | Brockley |
| SE5 | Camberwell |
| SE6 | Catford |
| SE7 | Charlton |
| SE8 | Deptford |
| SE9 | Eltham |
| SE10 | Greenwich |
| SE11 | Kennington, Vauxhall (part) |
| SE12 | Lee |
| SE13 | Lewisham |
| SE14 | New Cross |
| SE15 | Peckham |
| SE16 | Rotherhithe, Bermondsey (part) |
| SE17 | Walworth |
| SE18 | Woolwich |
| SE19 | Upper Norwood, Anerley (part) |
| SE20 | Penge, Anerley, Crystal Palace (part) |
| SE21 | Dulwich |
| SE22 | East Dulwich |
| SE23 | Forest Hill |
| SE24 | Herne Hill |
| SE25 | South Norwood |
| SE26 | Sydenham |
| SE27 | West Norwood |
| SE28 | Thamesmead |
SW - South West
One of the most popular postal areas for flatshares generally - it covers everything from Chelsea's price point down to considerably more affordable options further south, so "SW" alone tells you very little about your budget.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| SW1 | Westminster, Belgravia, Pimlico, Victoria |
| SW2 | Brixton (part), Streatham Hill |
| SW3 | Chelsea |
| SW4 | Clapham |
| SW5 | Earl's Court |
| SW6 | Fulham, Walham Green |
| SW7 | South Kensington |
| SW8 | South Lambeth, Vauxhall (part) |
| SW9 | Brixton, Stockwell |
| SW10 | West Brompton, Chelsea (part) |
| SW11 | Battersea |
| SW12 | Balham |
| SW13 | Barnes |
| SW14 | Mortlake, East Sheen |
| SW15 | Putney |
| SW16 | Streatham, Norbury |
| SW17 | Tooting |
| SW18 | Wandsworth, Colliers Wood (near) |
| SW19 | Wimbledon, Colliers Wood |
| SW20 | Raynes Park, Morden (near) |
W - West
A mix of well-connected, more built-up areas close in (Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith) and quieter, more residential streets further out towards Ealing.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| W1 | Mayfair, Marylebone, Soho, Fitzrovia |
| W2 | Paddington, Bayswater |
| W3 | Acton |
| W4 | Chiswick |
| W5 | Ealing |
| W6 | Hammersmith |
| W7 | Hanwell |
| W8 | Kensington |
| W9 | Maida Vale |
| W10 | North Kensington, Ladbroke Grove |
| W11 | Notting Hill |
| W12 | Shepherd's Bush |
| W13 | West Ealing |
| W14 | West Kensington |
WC - West Central
Home to UCL and several other universities alongside Covent Garden and Holborn - like EC, dominated by commercial and institutional buildings rather than typical flatshare listings.
| District | Covers |
|---|---|
| WC1 | Bloomsbury, Gray's Inn, Holborn |
| WC2 | Covent Garden, Holborn, Strand |
Like EC, dominated by commercial and institutional buildings (plus UCL and other universities) rather than typical flatshare listings.
Why this matters when you're choosing a room
Beyond just knowing where you'll be living, understanding postcodes helps with a few practical things:
- Comparing listings properly. Two rooms both listed as "North London" could be in very different postcode areas (N vs NW) with different transport links and price points.
- Working out your actual commute before you commit, rather than after you've moved in and discovered the postcode doesn't mean what you assumed.
- Spotting inconsistencies. If a listing's postcode doesn't match the neighbourhood it claims to be in, it's worth double-checking the listing carefully.
Frequently asked questions
Does a lower postcode number mean closer to central London?
Only the "1" postcodes (E1, N1, SW1, etc.) reliably mean central - beyond that, numbers were assigned alphabetically by neighbourhood name in 1917, not by distance, so higher numbers aren't necessarily further out.
What's the difference between EC/WC and the other areas?
EC (East Central) and WC (West Central) are the two central exceptions to the compass-direction system - both are dominated by commercial and institutional buildings, so you'll see far fewer flatshare listings there than in the surrounding residential postcodes.
Why do two rooms in the "same area" sometimes have different postcodes?
Postcode boundaries don't always match how Londoners actually describe neighbourhoods - an area might straddle two postcodes, or a name like "Clapham" might informally cover parts of both SW4 and SW11. The postcode is the official boundary; the neighbourhood name is the informal one, and they don't always line up perfectly.
Is outer London postcoded differently?
Yes - outer London boroughs use a town-based code instead of a compass direction (e.g. CR for Croydon, EN for Enfield, HA for Harrow, KT for Kingston, RM for Romford, TW for Twickenham), reflecting that these were originally separate postal towns before London's growth absorbed them.
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