What it's like to live in Reigate

In the Reigate and Banstead council area, 71.1% of homes are owner-occupied and 15.7% privately rented. Social renting makes up 11.5%, split between 1.8% council and 9.7% housing association, well below the England figure of 17.1%. In plain terms, social homes here are in short supply relative to demand.

Raven Housing Trust is by far the biggest social landlord locally with around 5,088 homes, followed by Southern Housing, Hyde, Metropolitan Housing Trust and Orbit. Average weekly social rents in 2024/25 were about £121 for a one bed, £141 for two and £161 for three.

The age profile is close to the national picture, with slightly more under-16s (20.2%) and slightly fewer young adults. At 31 March 2025 there were 1,062 households on the council's housing register, and 167 social homes were let through the council that year. That is one reason many tenants look at a mutual exchange instead.

Reigate Priory Community Junior School is right in the centre, barely a few steps from the shops, with Reigate Parish Church Primary School and Brooklands School both within about half a mile. Reigate St Mary's Preparatory and Choir School and Micklefield School are also nearby, though those are independent.

For older children, Reigate School is about a mile away and St Bede's School 1.6 miles. Reigate Valley College (Sidlow Bridge Campus) is under a mile. Reigate Grammar and Dunottar are independent schools in the town. As always, check catchment and admissions for the exact address before you commit to a swap.

For family life outside school, Priory Park is the obvious one, two minutes from the centre, with Wray Common and Earlswood Common giving more open space within a mile and a half. Reigate Library is in the town centre and Redhill Library is a further option. Church and community halls across the town run the kind of groups that are useful with young children.

Reigate station is about a third of a mile from the centre, so a walk for many people in town. Redhill, 1.7 miles away, is the bigger interchange, and Earlswood is a similar distance. Betchworth and Merstham are within about three miles if you are looking at the edges of the area.

Buses run from Redhill Bus Station, 1.7 miles away, which is the main hub for the wider area. If you rely on buses day to day, it is worth checking the specific routes from the street you are considering, as coverage varies across the town.

By car, Reigate sits close to the main east-west and north-south routes across this part of Surrey, which is part of why the area is popular with commuters. Expect slow going through the town centre at peak times. On foot, the compact centre means shops, the library, pharmacies, the cinema and Priory Park are all within about a quarter of a mile of each other.

For a town of this size, Reigate does well. There is an Everyman Cinema in the centre and The Light over in Redhill, 1.6 miles away. Pubs and bars cluster tightly in the middle of town, including The Bell, The Market Stores, The Ivory Lounge, The Tasting Rooms and The Cage, so an evening out does not need a car.

Green space is one of the strongest things here. Priory Park is a short walk from the high street, and Wray Common, Earlswood Common, Redhill Memorial Park and Battlebridge are all within about two and a half miles.

If you exercise, there is plenty of choice without travelling: Very Yoga, 1Sculpt, ONE Premium Fitness, Reigate Pilates and House of Reformer are all in or beside the town centre. For bigger shopping trips, the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill is the nearest indoor centre, and Q's Entertainment is the main late-night venue in that direction.

Across the Reigate and Banstead council area, 62.5% of adults are in work, above the England figure of 57.4%. Unemployment stands at 2.8%, lower than the 3.5% England average, and unemployment-related benefit claims were 2.2% of working-age people in August 2026 against 4% nationally.

Those figures say a lot about the area: this is a prosperous commuter belt with a strong local labour market. Plenty of residents travel out to London, Gatwick or Crawley for work, and good rail links are part of why people settle here.

Locally, the town centre itself supports retail, hospitality and services, with Redhill's shopping centre and East Surrey Hospital as larger employment sites within a couple of miles. If you are moving for work, it is worth being honest with yourself about commuting costs, because much of the opportunity here is a train ride away rather than on the doorstep.