What it's like to live in Faringdon
Faringdon is a small Oxfordshire market town of about 7,121 people in the Vale of White Horse, with a proper town centre, old stone buildings and open countryside on every side. It suits people who want a quieter, friendly-sized place rather than a city, and families in particular. The Town Park and Faringdon Library are both a couple of minutes from the square.
1 council and housing association home available to swap within 15 miles of Faringdon.
1 tenant wants to move here. Live in Faringdon? List your home and they could be your match. "I'd move here" adds Faringdon to the areas on your listing, so homes here are matched to you first.
Faringdon is a small market town of around 7,121 people in the Vale of White Horse, in Oxfordshire. It sits between the Thames and the downs, and it has the shape of an old market town: a central square with the Old Town Hall, pubs and shops around it, and housing spreading out from there.
For a town this size, the day-to-day basics are close together. There is a Tesco Superstore and an ALDI within a mile, a retail park on the edge of town, three pharmacies, a library and a leisure centre. The Town Park is a couple of minutes from the centre.
It will not suit everyone. There is no railway station in the town, so journeys further afield mean a bus or a car. If you want city life on your doorstep, look elsewhere. If you want a walkable town with countryside around it, and you are happy to plan longer trips, Faringdon is worth a serious look.
Swapping to Faringdon: key facts
Can I swap my council or housing association home to Faringdon?
Yes, if you are already a council or housing association tenant. Mutual exchange means swapping homes with another social tenant, so it does not depend on the council waiting list: you need a tenant in or near Faringdon who wants your area, and both landlords must agree. Landlords have 42 days to decide and can only refuse on set legal grounds. On 5 October 2026, 1 home was listed to swap within 15 miles and 1 tenant wanted to move to Faringdon on Mutual Home Exchange.
How long is the council housing waiting list in Faringdon?
2,904 households were on the Vale of White Horse housing register on 31 March 2025, up 14% on a year earlier. 714 social homes were let through the council in 2024 to 2025, roughly 4.1 households for every home let. Source: Local Authority Housing Statistics, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
How much is social rent in Faringdon?
Average weekly social rents in the Vale of White Horse council area in 2024/25: 1 bed £0 council, £111 housing association; 2 bed £183 council, £127 housing association; 3 bed £236 council, £146 housing association. Affordable rent homes cost more, typically 60 to 80% of market rent. Source: Regulator of Social Housing.
How much social housing is there in Faringdon and who owns it?
14.3% of homes in the Vale of White Horse council area are social housing (council 2.2%, housing association 12.1%), against 17.1% across England, according to the 2021 Census. The biggest social landlords there are Sovereign Network Group (6,682 homes), Soha Housing Limited (988 homes) and GreenSquareAccord Limited (604 homes).
Which homes are available to swap near Faringdon?
What is housing like in Faringdon and who lives there?
Housing in the Vale of White Horse is heavily owner-occupied: 68.2% own their home, 15.7% rent privately and 14.3% rent socially, a little below the England figure of 17.1%. Social renting is mostly through housing associations rather than the council, at 12.1% against 2.2%.
The biggest social landlord by far is Sovereign Network Group with 6,682 homes, followed by Soha Housing with 988, GreenSquareAccord with 604, Stonewater with 390 and Clarion with 316. If you swap here, there is a good chance your new landlord will be one of those.
Average weekly social rents across the council area in 2024/25 were £111 for a one bed, £127 for two beds and £146 for three. Ask for the exact rent and service charge on any home you are considering. For context on demand, the council's housing register held 2,904 households at the end of March 2025, and 714 social homes were let through the council in 2024-25.
Council waiting list and lettings
Households on the register by the size of home they need.
That is roughly 4.1 households waiting for every social home let in a year. Mutual exchange doesn't use the waiting list: if you already have a council or housing association home, swapping with another tenant can be a quicker way to move to Faringdon.
A register counts households who have applied, so it isn't a simple queue: some are already social tenants hoping to transfer, and people can be on more than one council's list.
Typical weekly social rents in the Vale of White Horse council area
| Size | Council | Housing association |
|---|---|---|
| Bedsit | £222 | £89 |
| 1 bed | £0 | £111 |
| 2 bed | £183 | £127 |
| 3 bed | £236 | £146 |
| 4 bed | £285 | £164 |
Social rent averages for 2024/25. Affordable rent homes cost more, typically 60 to 80% of market rent.
Biggest social landlords in the council area
- Sovereign Network Group6,682 homes
- Soha Housing Limited988 homes
- GreenSquareAccord Limited604 homes
- Stonewater Limited390 homes
- Clarion Housing Association Limited316 homes
- Aster Communities281 homes
- Abri Group Limited272 homes
- Peabody Trust163 homes
What is it like to live in Faringdon?
Life tends to revolve around the centre. The Old Town Hall, the Pump House and the Corn Exchange all host community activity, and there is a cluster of pubs including The Folly Inn, The Swan and The Wheatsheaf. Everything is close enough that you bump into people you know.
The trade-off is scale. Faringdon has the essentials and little more, so bigger shopping trips, specialist appointments and a wider choice of work usually mean travelling out. Plenty of people here are perfectly happy with that; others find it limiting. Be honest with yourself about which you are before you commit to a swap.
What are the schools and family life like in Faringdon?
The Elms Primary School sits right in the town, around 0.2 miles from the centre, which is a short walk for most Faringdon addresses. Further out there is Shellingford C of E Primary School at 2.3 miles and St Hugh's School at 2.7 miles. Check the latest inspection reports and admissions arrangements yourself, as catchments and places change year to year.
For younger children and weekends, there is plenty of green space. Town Park is on the doorstep, with Tucker Park, Humpty Hill, the Clos Mêlois Boules Park and the Bellmount View viewpoint all within a mile. Faringdon Leisure Centre is under a mile from the centre.
Across the wider Vale of White Horse, 18.9% of residents are under 16, broadly in line with England. It is a reasonably family-heavy area without feeling dominated by any one age group, and 19.8% of people are 65 or over.
Primary schools
- The Elms Primary Schoolnearby
- Shellingford C OF E Primary School2.3 mi
- St Hugh's School2.7 mi
Parks
- Town Parknearby
- Clos Mêlois Boules Parknearby
- Tucker Park0.5 mi
- Humpty Hill0.6 mi
- Bellmount View viewpoint0.8 mi
Libraries
- Faringdon Librarynearby
- Great Coxwell Book Exchange1.7 mi
- Littleworth Book Exchange1.8 mi
What shops and everyday essentials are in Faringdon?
Supermarkets
- Faringdon Continental Foodsnearby
- Londisnearby
- Tesco Superstore0.3 mi
- Faringdon Food Centre0.6 mi
- ALDI0.6 mi
Pharmacies
- Boots Pharmacynearby
- Faringdon Pharmacy and Travel Clinicnearby
- Avoca Medicalnearby
Shopping centres
- Faringdon Retail Park0.7 mi
How do you get around Faringdon?
Faringdon has no railway station of its own, so the town is served by buses. The main stop is at Station Road, about a five-minute walk from the centre, and that is where longer journeys start for anyone without a car. Check the current timetables for the routes and times you would actually need, especially evenings and Sundays, before you decide.
On foot, the town works well. The library, the square, the pubs, the pharmacies and the Town Park are all within a few minutes of each other, and the Tesco Superstore is about a third of a mile out. ALDI and the retail park are under a mile, which is a walkable trip for some and a bus or lift for others.
A car makes Faringdon much easier, and many households here have one. If you do not drive, it is still doable, but you will want to be confident about the bus links to the places you travel to most.
Bus stations
- Station Roadnearby
What is there to do in Faringdon?
Most of what there is happens in or near the town centre. The Corn Exchange, the Old Town Hall and the Pump House are the places to watch for clubs, classes and community events, and the Pump House Project runs from the same part of town. Faringdon Library is a two-minute walk away and useful well beyond books.
For eating and drinking there is a decent handful of options for a town this size: The Folly Inn, The Swan, The Wheatsheaf, LasChicas and Sudbury House Hotel. For exercise, Faringdon Leisure Centre is the main venue, with Mission Fitness UK's 24/7 gym and Lumen Training closer in, and Pilates classes out at Little Coxwell.
The real draw is outdoors. Bellmount View gives you a view over the surrounding countryside, and the parks and footpaths around the town are free and on your doorstep. If you like walking, you will not run out quickly.
Gyms
- Mission Fitness UK 24/7 Gym0.5 mi
- Faringdon Leisure Centre0.7 mi
- Lumen Training Limited0.9 mi
- Laura J Pilates - Pilates classes at Little Coxwell1.4 mi
Pubs and bars
- LasChicasnearby
- The Wheatsheafnearby
- The Folly Innnearby
- The Swannearby
- Sudbury House Hotel0.3 mi
Community centres
- Old Town Hallnearby
- Pump Housenearby
- The Pump House Projectnearby
- Corn Exchangenearby
- St. John’s Church & Fernham Village Hall2.3 mi
What is work and the local economy like in Faringdon?
The Vale of White Horse is a working area. Across the council area, 63% of adults are in work, above the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment sits at 2.1% against 3.5% nationally. In August 2026, 2% of 16 to 64 year olds were claiming unemployment-related benefits, half the England rate of 4%.
Within Faringdon itself, the jobs you can walk to are mainly in shops, schools, care, hospitality and services: the supermarkets, the retail park, the pubs and hotel, the leisure centre and the medical practices all employ locally.
Beyond that, most people commute. With no station in town, that usually means driving or taking a bus to work elsewhere in Oxfordshire or across the county boundary. If your job is fixed to one place, work out that journey carefully before swapping. If you work from home or your hours are flexible, Faringdon is an easier fit.
Figures are for the Vale of White Horse council area, Census 2021 and ONS claimant count.
How safe is Faringdon?
Like every town centre, Faringdon has police incidents logged each month. In August 2026 there were 51 within about a mile of the centre, made up of:
- Anti-social behaviour reports11
- Shoplifting11
- Criminal damage2
- Burglary1
- Drug offences1
- Public order5
Source: data.police.uk street-level crime. Counts cover a fixed one-mile radius around the centre, so busy high streets and stations always record far more than the residential streets around them, and most incidents are minor. Compare like with like: a similar-sized town centre, not a village.
Is Faringdon a good place for council and housing association tenants?
Right now: 1 home to swap within 15 miles of Faringdon, and 1 tenant wants to move here.
Faringdon makes sense for tenants who want a small town with a real centre, parks and schools close by, and countryside right outside. It is less suited to anyone who needs frequent trains or a big-city job market within easy reach. Visit on a weekday if you can, walk the route to work or school, and try the bus you would rely on.
Mutual Home Exchange is free to use. Create a listing for your current home with clear photos and an honest description, say what you can offer and what you need, then add Faringdon to your desired areas. The more specific you are about bedrooms, ground-floor access, gardens and parking, the better your matches will be.
Swaps here do not always appear straight away, so set your search to cover nearby villages and the wider Vale of White Horse too. Keep your listing up to date, reply quickly to messages, and check that both landlords will approve the exchange before you get your hopes up.
Tell me when a home appears near Faringdon
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Nearby place guides
Thinking of moving a little further? Compare homes to swap, rents and local landlords in places near Faringdon.