London has long been described through its quirks — from the Circle Line’s loops to postcode rivalries.
But recently, a strange new metaphor has captured people’s imagination: the “London banana.”
First coined online, it describes a sweeping belt through the capital where life is supposedly brighter, healthier, and more expensive.
But while much debate has swirled around this so-called “ripe banana,” new research suggests there’s also a less appealing counterpart — a “rotten banana.”
And unlike its shinier cousin, this stretch is defined by lower house prices, poorer health, higher deprivation, and crime.
How the ‘Rotten Banana’ Was Identified
The Daily Mail crunched the numbers on nearly 5,000 tiny London neighbourhoods, each home to around 2,000 people.
Using official datasets on crime, house prices, deprivation, and health, the analysis painted a stark picture.
The worst-scoring area was a pocket of Haringey covering parts of Wood Green High Road and Pelham Road.
Here, homes sold for an average of just £240,500 last year — less than half London’s overall average of £550,000, and a world away from Hampstead Heath’s £8 million mansions.
Health figures were also worrying: 9.4% of residents reported being in “bad” or “very bad” health, worse than almost every other part of the capital.
And with 71% of households classed as deprived in at least one way, the area landed among the bottom 4% in London.
Crime didn’t help its ranking either, with 517 incidents reported per 1,000 residents in just one year.
Where the Banana Curves
This “rotten banana” isn’t confined to one borough.
It cuts through parts of Enfield, Haringey, and Waltham Forest, dips south into Hackney and Tower Hamlets, and then loops back north-east into Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Havering.
Stratford, with its bustling Westfield shopping centre, registered some of the very highest crime figures — 3,311 incidents per 1,000 residents.
Yet Stratford didn’t fall to the very bottom overall, thanks to better health outcomes and higher house values.
House Prices: Where Property is Cheapest
House prices varied widely across the banana. On the southern curve in Newham’s Silvertown, homes at Royal Wharf sold for a median of just £99,950, the second-lowest in all of London.
By contrast, in Ealing, some properties dipped even lower, around £80,000.
Hackney’s Stamford Hill also recorded unusually cheap homes at £112,500.
However, not every borough inside the banana struggled — Redbridge, for instance, outperformed many of its neighbours.
Health and Deprivation: The Divide Gets Clearer
When it comes to wellbeing, the divide became even starker.
In Dalston, Hackney, over 10% of people reported poor health — worse than 99% of London neighbourhoods.
Broadwater Farm in Haringey topped the deprivation charts, with more than 80% of households suffering from at least one form of deprivation.
Other boroughs along the rotten curve, including Enfield, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Havering, also had deprivation rates of 60–70% or more.
How the Scores Were Calculated
To reach these conclusions, researchers pulled together four key measures:
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Crime per 1,000 residents (year to June 2025)
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Median house prices (2024)
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Levels of deprivation (2021 Census)
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Percentage of people in poor health (2021 Census)
Each neighbourhood was ranked against all 5,000 across the capital.
Their average percentile scores determined whether they were part of London’s ripe or rotten side of the banana.
What’s Next for London’s Map of Inequality?
The banana theory may have started as a viral joke, but the numbers show it carries some weight.
The capital remains a city of contrasts — where multi-million-pound mansions sit just a Tube ride from some of the most deprived estates.
Whether policymakers will use these findings to tackle London’s inequalities remains to be seen.
But one thing is clear: the story of London’s bananas reveals more than a quirky metaphor — it exposes the deep divides that shape everyday life in the city.