What it's like to live in Buckfastleigh

Teignbridge is a strongly owner-occupied area. Around 71.3% of homes are owned outright or with a mortgage, 17.9% are privately rented, and just 9.5% are social rented, well under the England figure of 17.1%. Social housing here is mostly housing association rather than council, at 7.3% against 2.2%.

That makes a mutual exchange a genuinely valuable route in, because social homes do not come up often in this part of Devon.

The biggest landlords across the area are Teign Housing with 3,674 homes, LiveWest with 924, Westward Housing Group with 562, Sovereign Network Group with 500 and Sanctuary Housing Association with 270.

Average weekly social rents in the council area for 2024/25 were about £90 for a one-bed, £102 for a two-bed and £114 for a three-bed.

Families have a decent choice for a town this size. Buckfastleigh Primary School is right in the town at 0.1 miles, with St Mary's Catholic Primary School at 0.7 miles. Within a couple of miles there is Landscove C of E Primary School and Link Multi Academy Trust, both 2.2 miles, and Ashburton Primary School at 2.6 miles.

For days out with children, Pennywell Farm is 1.5 miles away and the National Trust woodland at Hembury and Holne Woods is 1.3 miles. Closer to home, The Orchard Millennium Green is a short walk.

Across the wider Teignbridge area, under-16s make up 15.7% of the population, a little below the England figure of 18.6%. It is an area with an older profile than the national average, so check secondary school options and travel for older children.

Buckfastleigh is compact enough that a lot of it works on foot. The primary school, library, pharmacy and medical centre are all within a quarter of a mile of the middle of town, and the parks are barely further.

For buses, there are stops at Buckfastleigh Garage and Station Approach, both about a third of a mile from the centre, with further stops at Ashburton Memorial and Miners Close within three miles. Check the timetables for the routes you would actually need before you commit, as rural services vary a lot.

There is a station at Buckfastleigh, around 0.4 miles away. Look up which services run from it and how often, because that matters if you are commuting.

A car makes the surrounding villages and Dartmoor much easier to reach.

Most of what there is to do here is outdoors or sociable rather than commercial. The Orchard Millennium Green and Higher town are both a short walk from the centre, and Gulwell Field is under two miles. Hembury and Holne Woods gives you proper National Trust woodland walking within a mile and a half.

Buckfastleigh Library is right in the town, which is useful for children's activities, computer access and a warm place to sit. Ashburton Library is a second option 2.6 miles away.

Socially, the pubs do a lot of the work: the Globe Inn, The Doe, the White Hart and The Kings Arms are all in or right beside the centre, with the Rangers Social Club nearby. Pennywell Farm is the obvious family day out.

Across the Teignbridge council area, 54.8% of adults are in work, slightly below the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment sits at 2.1% against 3.5% nationally. Benefit claims tied to unemployment stood at 2.2% of 16 to 64 year olds in August 2026, compared with 4% for England.

Those are healthy figures, but they sit alongside an older population: 27% of Teignbridge residents are 65 or over, against 18.4% nationally. That shapes the kind of work available locally.

We do not hold detailed figures on employers in Buckfastleigh itself. If you are moving for work, it is worth checking your realistic commute by bus, train or car before you agree a swap, as this is a small town in a rural setting.