What it's like to live in Crawley

Housing in the Crawley council area splits 55.7% owned, 22.9% social rented and 19.8% private rented. The social rented share is above the England figure of 17.1%, and council housing makes up most of it at 17.5%, with housing associations at 5.4%. That means a reasonable base of social homes to exchange into.

Crawley Borough Council is by far the biggest landlord with 8,173 homes. After that come Moat Homes with 536, The Guinness Partnership with 476, Hyde Housing Association with 390 and Southern Housing with 297.

Average weekly social rents in the council area for 2024/25 were £109 for a one bed, £126 for two beds and £140 for three beds. The town skews young, with 21% under 16 and only 13.3% aged 65 and over, against 18.4% nationally. The council's housing register held 1,721 households at March 2025, and 110 council homes changed hands through mutual exchange in 2024-25, so swapping is a well-used route here.

Families are well served for schools. Within half a mile or so of the centre there are St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary, West Green Primary, Northgate Primary, Hilltop Primary and Southgate Primary, so most central addresses have a short walk to more than one option.

For older children there is a good spread of secondaries close by: St Wilfrid's Catholic School, Thomas Bennett Community College, Ifield Community College and Holy Trinity CofE Secondary are all within just over a mile, and Manor Green College is nearby too. Always check catchment and admissions with the council before you count on a place.

Outside school, there is plenty to fill weekends. West Green Playing Fields, Southgate Park and Three Bridges Playing Field are good for running about, Crawley Library and Broadfield Library are free places to take younger children, and Crawley Youth Centre, Crawley District Scouts and the community centres at Northgate, Southgate West and Tilgate run the kind of local activities that help newcomers settle. The council area has a young age profile, with 21% under 16.

Trains are Crawley's strong card. Crawley station is a few minutes from the town centre, with Ifield about a mile west and Three Bridges just over a mile east. Three Bridges is the bigger interchange on the main line, which is handy for longer journeys north and south. Between the three, most parts of town are within reach of a station without needing a car.

The town was built with wide roads and roundabouts linking the neighbourhoods, which makes driving straightforward by South East standards, though the town centre and school-run times still get busy. Parking is easiest around the main shopping area.

On foot, Crawley is kinder than most towns of its size. The centre, County Mall, the library, the Memorial Gardens and several pharmacies sit within a few hundred metres of each other, and the neighbourhoods have their own parades and paths through green space. Buses link the neighbourhoods to the centre, so a car is useful here rather than essential.

For a town of this size, Crawley gives you a decent spread. Cineworld Crawley is a short walk from the centre, and County Mall covers the shopping. Goff's Park is the one locals tend to name first for a proper afternoon out, with the Memorial Gardens handy for a quick sit-down between errands.

If you like training, there is choice: The Gym and GYM CRAWLEY are both central, with The Forest Gym, Crossfit Crawley and Yoga At The Forge a little further out. Playing fields at West Green and Three Bridges suit casual sport and dog walking.

Eating and drinking is mostly pub-led in the centre, with The Old Punch Bowl, the White Hart, The Jubilee Oak, The Hive Bar and Legends Sports & Music bar all clustered within a few minutes of each other. The independent food shops around the centre, from Longdan to Ceylon Spices, are worth a browse if you cook. The two libraries and the community centres fill in the quieter, cheaper end of things to do.

Crawley is a working town and the figures show it. In the council area, 62.9% of adults are in work, well above the England average of 57.4%, and the age profile leans towards working age, with 31.5% aged 25 to 44 against 26.6% nationally.

The flip side is that unemployment sits at 5%, above the England figure of 3.5%, and unemployment-related benefit claims were 4.7% of 16 to 64 year olds in September 2026 compared with 4% across England. So there is plenty of work about, but the local jobs market can be more exposed than those headline employment numbers suggest.

Practically, the train links matter as much as local jobs. With three stations within just over a mile of the centre, commuting north or south is realistic without a car, which widens your options if you are moving for work or your hours change.