What it's like to live in Richmond upon Thames

Richmond upon Thames is dominated by owner-occupiers. Around 62.4% of homes are owned and 24.7% privately rented, leaving just 12.1% social rented, well below the England figure of 17.1%. Of that, only 2.3% is council-owned and 9.8% housing association.

That makes Richmond Housing Partnership by far the biggest social landlord here, with roughly 6,400 homes, followed by Paragon Asra Housing, London & Quadrant, Metropolitan Housing Trust and The Guinness Partnership. If you swap into the borough, there is a good chance one of those names ends up on your tenancy agreement.

Rents are reasonable for London: average weekly social rents in 2024/25 were about £139 for a one bed, £155 for two and £165 for three. The borough's housing register held 2,880 households at the end of March 2025, with 453 social homes let through the council that year, which is why a mutual exchange is often the more practical route in.

Families are well served for choice. Deer Park School and The Old Vicarage School are within a third of a mile, with The Little Vic School For Girls closer still, and Kneller Hall Junior School and King's House School (Junior Department) about half a mile out. Note that several of the nearest options are independent, so check the state schools in the borough carefully before you commit.

For older children, Christ's Church of England Comprehensive Secondary School is under a mile away and Orleans Park School is about the same, with Gumley House RC Convent School, FCJ a little over a mile. Thomas's College and The German School are also close by.

The borough skews slightly young: just over 20% of residents are under 16, above the England figure. Richmond Library and Richmond Reference Library are both a short walk from the centre, and Richmond Green, Cambridge Gardens and Rotary Gardens give you somewhere free to take the kids on a long afternoon.

Richmond station is about half a mile from the centre and is a proper hub, with National Rail services and the Underground sharing the site, plus the Overground line through North Sheen and Kew Gardens nearby. St Margarets is under a mile away and Twickenham just over a mile, which helps if you work west of here.

Richmond Bus Station is right in the middle of town, so buses are easy to pick up without a long walk. Hounslow Bus Station, a couple of miles west, widens your options again.

If you drive, be realistic. Central Richmond is busy, parking is tight and often controlled, and the river crossings bottleneck at peak times. Plenty of people here manage without a car, because the station, the shops, the parks and the schools are all close enough to walk. On foot the riverside path and the Green make even dull errands pleasant.

Richmond is unusually well stocked for a town this size. Richmond Riverside and Richmond Green are a couple of minutes apart, and Bridge House Gardens sits between them. On a warm weekend the whole town drifts towards the water.

For a night out there are three cinemas within walking distance of the centre: Curzon Richmond, the Odeon and the Odeon Richmond Studio. Pubs are plentiful and old, from The Old Ship and the Waterman's Arms to The Britannia and the Slug and Lettuce, with The Bootlegger Vault and Viva if you want something later.

Gyms are everywhere too, including Third Space, Vive Fitness, Richmond Hill Health Club and Studio 17. Community life runs through places like the E.T.N.A. Community Centre, Old Fellows Memorial Hall, and the Air Training Corps and Sea Cadet huts, which is where a lot of children's activity happens. For bigger shopping trips, the Treaty Centre is about two and a half miles away.

The wider borough has a strong jobs picture. Around 62.6% of adults are in work, above the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment sits at 3.4%. Benefit claims linked to unemployment were 2.6% of working-age people in August 2026, against 4% across England.

Much of that is explained by commuting. With fast rail and Underground links from Richmond, a lot of residents work in central London or along the western corridor towards Hounslow and Heathrow's hinterland. Locally, the big employers you can see are the hospitals, including West Middlesex Hospital, and the town's own retail, hospitality and leisure trade, which is sizeable given the number of pubs, cinemas and gyms.

If you work shifts or unsocial hours, the bus station and the station being in the middle of town makes a real difference. If you work from home, the libraries and the sheer density of cafes and pubs mean you are not stuck indoors all day.