What it's like to live in Aldershot

Housing in the Rushmoor area is mostly owner-occupied at 60.5%, with 21.5% privately rented and 16.2% social rented, just under the England figure of 17.1%. Most social housing is held by housing associations rather than the council, which owns only 2.4% of homes.

Vivid Housing Limited is by far the biggest landlord with around 4,956 homes, followed by Metropolitan Housing Trust with 570, Grainger Trust with 485, Southern Housing with 333 and A2Dominion South with 254. If you are swapping, there is a reasonable chance your new landlord would be one of these.

Average weekly social rents in the area for 2024/25 are around £112 for a one bed, £134 for two beds and £151 for three beds, which is affordable for this part of the South East. For context on demand, Rushmoor's housing register held 1,874 households at the end of March 2025 and 277 social homes were let through the council in 2024-25. That is why mutual exchange is often the realistic route in.

There is a good spread of schools close in. Talavera Junior and Talavera Infant Schools are within a couple of hundred metres of the centre, with Wellington Community Primary, St Joseph's Catholic Primary and The Cambridge Primary all under a mile. That usually means a walk rather than a drive to the school gate.

For older children, Rowhill School is half a mile away, All Hallows Catholic School just over a mile, and The Wavell School, Ash Manor School and Farnham Heath End all within about a mile and a half. Having several options this close is useful when places are tight in one year group.

For family time outside school, Princes Gardens and Municipal Gardens are handy for younger children, and Manor Park and Brickfields Park give more room to run. Aldershot Library is in the town centre, and community groups such as the 2nd Aldershot Scout Group and North Town Community Centre run activities locally. Children under 16 make up 18.9% of the wider Rushmoor area, slightly above the England average, so this is a town used to families.

Aldershot station is about a third of a mile from the town centre, with direct services towards London and connections across the South East. Ash, North Camp and Ash Vale stations are all around two miles out, and Farnham is under three, so you have options if one line suits your journey better.

Buses link the town centre with Farnborough, Ash and Farnham, and the Farnborough Airshow Bus Station is under two miles away. Services are most frequent along the main corridors, so it is worth checking times for your particular route before you commit to a swap.

By car, the A331 and A325 connect Aldershot to the M3 and onward to the A31, which makes Guildford, Basingstoke and Southampton manageable drives. Parking in the centre is mostly in car parks rather than on the street.

On foot, the centre is flat and compact. From most central addresses you can reach the shops, the library, a pharmacy and a park in ten or fifteen minutes, which matters if you do not drive.

Aldershot punches above its weight for a town of this size. Cineworld is a short walk from the centre, with REEL Cinema and Vue Farnborough both under three miles if you fancy a change. Gyms are plentiful and close: Baileys Gym, Anytime Fitness, PureGym, A.R.D. Training Camp and Studio-1 Fitness are all within walking distance of the high street.

For eating and drinking, the centre has a decent run of pubs and bars including The George, The Trafalgar Inn, De'Lounge, Truth and Dunga. Power Lounge and Vybe Bar & Nightclub cover later nights. Alongside these, the town's international food shops make it easy to cook something different at home.

Green space and quiet are easy to find too. Princes Gardens, Municipal Gardens, Redan Hill Gardens, Manor Park and Brickfields Park give you a choice within a mile or so. Two libraries sit close to the centre, including the specialist Prince Consort's Library, and the National Aerospace Library is a couple of miles away at Farnborough.

Work is one of Aldershot's quieter strengths. In the wider Rushmoor council area, 65.6% of adults are in work, well above the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment sits at 3.1% against 3.5% nationally. Benefit claimant figures tell the same story, at around 3% of working-age people compared with 4% across England.

The army presence is a major local employer, alongside retail and services in the town centre and health work at the Aldershot Centre for Health. Neighbouring Farnborough adds aerospace and technology jobs, and both Farnham and Guildford are within commuting distance.

The age profile backs this up: 31.1% of people in the Rushmoor area are aged 25 to 44, noticeably higher than the England average, and only 15.2% are 65 or over. This is a working-age town, which tends to mean steady demand for jobs but also more competition for homes. If your work is flexible or remote, the train links make Aldershot a sensible base.