What it's like to live in Ormskirk

Housing in the West Lancashire area leans heavily towards ownership: 70.7% of homes are owned, 13.9% are privately rented and 14.3% are social rented, which is below the England figure of 17.1%. Of that social housing, 11.4% is council and 3% housing association, so the council is by far the main landlord.

West Lancashire Borough Council holds 5,783 homes. The next largest social landlords are The Riverside Group with 292 homes, Jigsaw Homes North with 276, Sanctuary Housing Association with 183 and Regenda with 166. Average weekly social rents for 2024/25 were £81 for a one bed, £94 for two beds and £102 for three beds.

The council's housing register held 1,331 households at 31 March 2025, and 472 social homes were let through the council in 2024-25; a register is not a simple queue. Mutual exchange accounted for seven council swaps in that year. The age mix is older than average, with 27.4% aged 45 to 64 and 21.9% over 65, which tends to mean settled, long-standing neighbours.

There is a good spread of primary schools close in. Ormskirk Church of England Primary School is about a third of a mile away, with St Anne's Catholic Primary School, Asmall Primary School, Ormskirk West End Primary School and The Forum all within a mile. That usually means a short walk to the gates, though places depend on the year and the catchment, so check with the schools directly.

For older children, Ormskirk School and St Bede's Catholic High School are both under a mile from the centre, with Pontville School nearby too. Burscough Priory Academy sits around 2.7 miles out and Scarisbrick Hall School about 2.9 miles.

Families also get the benefit of Ormskirk District General Hospital on the doorstep, with a children's A&E and children's outpatients. Coronation Park and Victoria Park are both a short walk from the middle of town for everyday running about. In the wider West Lancashire area, 16.7% of residents are under 16, a little below the England figure of 18.6%, so it is a mixed town rather than a young one.

Ormskirk station is about a quarter of a mile from the centre, which puts rail travel within walking distance for many people in town. Aughton Park is roughly a mile away and Town Green about two miles, with Burscough Junction and New Lane within three miles, so there are options if you settle on the edges of town.

Ormskirk Bus Station is right in the middle, a tenth of a mile from the centre, which makes it straightforward to get around locally without a car. If you do drive, the town's position in West Lancashire gives you roads out towards the bigger towns and cities in several directions.

On foot, the town centre is the easy part: supermarkets, pharmacies, the library and parks are all within half a mile of each other. The hospital is around half a mile out, walkable for many but a short bus or car ride if you are not up to it. Homes further out towards Aughton or Burscough will lean more on buses, trains or a car for the bigger shops.

Green space is close at hand. Coronation Park is around a fifth of a mile from the centre and Victoria Park a third of a mile, and both are easy to reach on foot. Further out there is William Arnold Silcock Memorial Playing Field at about two miles, Richmond Park at 2.6 miles and Memorial Recreation Ground around three miles away.

The town centre has a lively pub scene for its size, with the Buck 'i'th Vine, Tank, Spiritz, Stiles and The Queens Head all in or beside the middle of town. Alpine and The Loft cover later nights, which partly reflects the student presence in Ormskirk. If that is not your thing, it is easy enough to live a few streets back from it.

For quieter days, Ormskirk Library is in the centre and Catalyst under a mile away, with Burscough Library about three miles out. PureGym is around four tenths of a mile from the centre. Community centres such as St Anne's Pastoral Centre and Christ Church Ministry Centre host local groups.

Figures here are for the wider West Lancashire council area rather than Ormskirk alone. Of adults in the area, 54.5% are in work, a bit below the England average of 57.4%. Unemployment sits at 3%, slightly lower than the 3.5% England figure.

Benefit claims linked to unemployment ran at 2.8% of people aged 16 to 64 in September 2026, compared with 4% across England. That suggests a reasonably steady local labour market, if not a booming one.

The age profile helps explain the lower employment rate: 21.9% of West Lancashire residents are 65 or over against 18.4% nationally, and the 25 to 44 group is smaller than the England average, so a fair share of the population is retired or studying. Within Ormskirk itself, the hospital and the town centre are obvious sources of local work, and the rail links towards the bigger cities mean commuting out is realistic for plenty of households. It is worth checking journey times before you commit to a swap.