What it's like to live in Burgess Hill

Burgess Hill is well supplied with primary schools. St Wilfrid's Primary School is around 0.2 miles from the centre, with London Meed Primary School, Sheddingdean Community Primary School and The Gattons Infant School all within about half a mile.

For older children, The Burgess Hill Academy is very close in at 0.3 miles and takes both primary and secondary ages. St Paul's Catholic College is just over a mile away, Woodlands Meed College is 0.8 miles, and Hurstpierpoint College sits 1.6 miles out. West Sussex Alternative Provision College is also nearby. Always check current admissions and catchments before you commit to a swap.

For the rest of family life there is plenty on the doorstep: St John's Park, Marle Place Recreation Ground, Sidney West and Fairfield Recreation Grounds, plus Burgess Hill Library and the Gattons Toy Library.

The railway is the town's strongest card. Burgess Hill station is about a third of a mile from the centre, with Wivelsfield under a mile away and Hassocks around 2.3 miles off, so most people have a realistic choice of more than one.

Buses call at stops by the railway station and along Station Road, with further stops near Wivelsfield station. Handy if you do not drive, though as in most Sussex towns it is worth checking the specific route and times for where you need to be.

On foot, the centre is genuinely walkable. Shops, the library, chemists, a cinema and several parks all sit within about half a mile of each other, which takes the pressure off owning a car. If you do drive, you are well placed for the wider Mid Sussex area and the roads towards Brighton and the coast.

The Orion Cinema is about 0.2 miles from the centre, which is a real luxury for a town this size, and Hurst Village Cinema is a couple of miles away for something smaller.

There is a decent spread of pubs and bars without it feeling rowdy: The Signalbox and The Six Gold Martlets are right in the middle, with Block & Gasket, The Potters Arms and Quench Bar & Kitchen all a short walk away.

If you like to keep active, PureGym Burgess Hill is central, alongside smaller options such as Totalfit, Ultimate Training and Dilma Yoga & Wellness. Community life runs through places like the Park Centre, the Cherry Tree Centre, Burgess Hill Methodist Church and the Community Crafters Market. Add the Garden of Remembrance and the recreation grounds and there is enough here to fill a weekend without leaving town.

The Mid Sussex area is a working one. Around 62.1% of adults are in work, above the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment sits at 2.4% against 3.5% nationally. Benefit claims tied to unemployment were 2.1% of working-age people in August 2026, roughly half the England rate of 4%.

What that means in practice is a town where a lot of people commute. The train links make Brighton, the coast and London-bound routes realistic, and plenty of work is found outside the town itself rather than in it.

Locally, the shopping centre, supermarkets, schools and health services are visible employers. If your work is tied to a particular site, check the journey properly before you swap, because a short map distance in Sussex can still mean an awkward trip.

Mid Sussex has less social housing than the country as a whole: 10.8% of homes are socially rented against 17.1% across England, and almost all of that is housing association rather than council, at 10% to 0.7%. Owner-occupation is high at 72.6%.

That makes swaps here competitive, so it pays to be patient and keep your listing fresh. The biggest landlords in the area are Clarion Housing Association, with about 4,605 homes, followed by Moat Homes, Hyde Housing Association, Raven Housing Trust and Sage Homes.

Average weekly social rents in the Mid Sussex area for 2024/25 were around £116 for a one bed, £139 for two and £162 for three. Worth checking your own rent against those figures before you move, as they can differ by landlord and property.