This dataset is free to download without registration. It is reviewed and updated twice annually, normally in March and September, with stable column names wherever possible.
SHA-256: 929a40338b19d361fd989dd70cfb2cf97057d80ce078715b3b4e452f7c7c305d
Data preview
| county | country | place count | nearest place | distance miles | place url |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire | England | 85 | Wilstead | 1.196 | https://postcodesuk.com/england/bedfordshire/wilstead-bedfordshire |
| Berkshire | England | 97 | Reading | 1.354 | https://postcodesuk.com/england/berkshire/reading-berkshire |
| Bristol | England | 2 | Avonmouth | 2.555 | https://postcodesuk.com/england/bristol/avonmouth-bristol |
| Buckinghamshire | England | 129 | Weston Turville | 0.425 | https://postcodesuk.com/england/buckinghamshire/weston-turville-buckinghamshire |
| Cambridgeshire | England | 157 | Over | 0.187 | https://postcodesuk.com/england/cambridgeshire/over-cambridgeshire |
Data dictionary
- county
- County or equivalent area.
- country
- Country.
- place_count
- Built-up places used for the centre.
- centre_latitude
- Mean latitude of those places.
- centre_longitude
- Mean longitude of those places.
- nearest_place
- Place nearest the calculated centre.
- place_latitude
- Nearest-place latitude.
- place_longitude
- Nearest-place longitude.
- distance_miles
- Distance from centre to place in miles.
- distance_kilometres
- Distance from centre to place in kilometres.
- place_url
- Permanent Postcodes UK place page.
Methodology and sources
For each county or equivalent area, the arithmetic mean latitude and longitude of its built-up places defines a reproducible centre. The closest listed place is then selected by great-circle distance. This is a centre of the place distribution, not an official or land-area centroid.
- Postcodes UK towns and places directory
Source datasets change over time and can contain omissions or revisions. Verify operational, admissions, financial or safety-critical decisions with the responsible authority.
Licence and suggested attribution
You may use this compilation for research, analysis and publishing with attribution to Postcodes UK and compliance with the applicable underlying source licences. The download does not transfer or override third-party rights.
Suggested attribution:
Source: Postcodes UK (postcodesuk.com), “Places Nearest the Geographic Centre of Each County”, September 2026, https://postcodesuk.com/data-downloads/places-nearest-county-centres. Derived from Postcodes UK location data and the named source datasets; underlying source rights and attribution statements apply.
Office for National Statistics and other public-sector information is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcode geography may contain Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail rights. HM Land Registry aggregates are derived from Price Paid Data. School fields derive from Department for Education and Ofsted sources.