What it's like to live in Tilbury

Housing in Tilbury is mostly straightforward family stock: terraces, semis and estate housing rather than flats and new builds. Across Thurrock, 17.7% of homes are social rented, roughly in line with the England figure of 17.1%, with 14.5% council and 3.2% housing association. Owner occupation is high at 63.3% and private renting makes up 18.3%.

Thurrock Council is by far the biggest social landlord in the borough with 9,790 homes, so most tenants here are council tenants. Estuary Housing Association, Southern Housing, Delta Housing and Moat Homes each hold a few hundred homes between them.

Rents are modest. Average weekly social rents in Thurrock for 2024/25 were about £90 for a one bed, £100 for a two bed and £121 for a three bed. Demand is real, though: 5,114 households were on the council's housing register at 31 March 2025, and 551 social homes were let in 2024-25. A register is not a simple queue, which is one reason a mutual exchange is worth considering. In 2024-25, 72 council homes in Thurrock changed hands through mutual exchange.

Families are well served for primary schools. Lansdowne Primary Academy and St Mary's Catholic Primary School & Nursery are both around a quarter of a mile away, with The Gateway Primary Free School about a mile off and Chadwell St Mary Primary School within a mile and a half. For most of Tilbury, the primary school run is a walk rather than a drive.

For secondary, The Gateway Academy is about a mile away and is the obvious local choice. Pier View Academy, Rosherville Church of England Academy, Mayfield Grammar School and Thames Park Secondary School all sit within about a mile and a half, though several are across the river in Kent, so look carefully at travel and admissions before you pin your hopes on them.

For the rest of family life, King George's Field and Anchor Fields Park are both within half a mile for kickabouts and pushchair walks, and Tilbury Library is a tenth of a mile away for story times and homework space. Thurrock Community Hospital is under three miles off, with Gravesham Community Hospital nearer still.

Tilbury Town station is about half a mile from the middle of town, which is the single biggest practical plus of living here. It puts the wider Thames estuary and London in reach without needing a car, and it is the route most commuters take.

Buses link the estates with Grays and the surrounding Thurrock towns, so shopping trips and hospital appointments are doable without driving, though you will want to check timetables for evenings and Sundays. Grays station is around two miles away, and Gravesend, Northfleet and Ebbsfleet International stations sit across the river in Kent. They look close on a map, but the Thames is in between, so check the crossing before you count on them.

On foot, Tilbury is flat and easy going, and most people can reach a shop, a park and the library in a short walk. For drivers, the main routes out of Thurrock put the Dartford crossing and the A13 within a reasonable drive, so a car still earns its keep for work further afield or bigger shopping runs.

Be realistic: Tilbury is not a town with a long list of attractions. What it has is parks, a library and a river, and people here make good use of all three. Anchor Fields Park and King George's Field are the everyday green spaces, with Gordon Gardens, Gordon Promenade and Fort Gardens within a mile and a half for a longer walk by the water.

For bigger days out you travel a short way. Thamesgate Shopping Centre is about a mile and a half away and Grays Shopping Centre around two miles, and The Woodville, a mile and a half off, covers cinema screenings and live shows.

If you like to train, there is decent choice nearby: Iron House Gym, PureGym, Shapers, NRG and Snap Fitness are all within a couple of miles. Pubs are mostly a mile or so away, with The Rum Puncheon, The Three Daws, the George Inn, Blake's and The Kent among them. Community halls, including St George's and St Mary's Church Halls, host the clubs and groups that keep many families busy.

Tilbury is a port town, and the docks and the logistics and warehousing that come with them have long been part of the local economy. Work in Thurrock tends to be in that practical, shift-based world, alongside retail, care and public services.

The numbers back up a working area. In the wider Thurrock council area 63% of adults are in work, well above the England figure of 57.4%. Unemployment sits at 3.8% against 3.5% nationally, and 4.3% of 16 to 64 year olds were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August 2026, compared with 4% across England. In short, slightly tighter than average, but not dramatically so.

Plenty of people here commute. The train from Tilbury Town opens up jobs along the estuary and into London, and the road links suit anyone driving to sites around Thurrock, Essex and the Dartford area. If your job is office-based and London-facing, Tilbury can work as a lower-cost base, provided you are happy with the journey.