What it's like to live in Torquay

Torbay is mostly a home-owning area. Across the council area, 64.1% of homes are owner-occupied and 26.6% are privately rented, while social rented homes make up just 8.3%, well below the England figure of 17.1%. Of that, housing associations hold most of it at 7.4%, with council housing only 0.9%.

The biggest social landlords are Sanctuary Housing Association with around 2,672 homes, Westward Housing Group with 1,578, LiveWest Homes with 491, Sovereign Network Group with 398 and Aster Communities with 140. Average weekly social rents in 2024/25 were about £91 for a one bed, £106 for two beds and £119 for three.

The population skews older than England as a whole: 28% are aged 45 to 64 and 26.7% are 65 and over, with 15.9% under 16. At 31 March 2025 there were 1,819 households on Torbay's housing register, and 307 social homes were let through the council in 2024-25. With social stock this limited, a mutual exchange is a realistic route in for many tenants.

There is a good spread of primary schools close in. Ellacombe Church of England Academy is about 0.3 miles away, with Upton St James CofE Primary, Cockington Primary, Warberry CofE Academy and Homelands Primary all within a mile.

For older children, The Spires College is around 0.6 miles away, Torquay Academy under a mile, and St Cuthbert Mayne School and Torquay Girls' Grammar School both around a mile. EF Academy Torbay is the nearest secondary site of all. Having several options this close is unusual and useful if you have children at different stages.

Family life outside school leans on the parks and the coast. Ellacombe Green is the nearest small green space, with Brewery Park, Kings Gardens, Princess Gardens and Torre Abbey Meadows all within a short walk. Torquay Central Library is in the town centre, Chelston Community Centre is under a mile away, and Torbay Olympic Gymnastics Club is about 1.4 miles for children who want something active. Torbay Hospital is 1.3 miles away.

Torquay has two train stations within walking distance of much of the town: Torquay station and Torre station, both about 0.7 miles from the centre. Paignton and Paignton Queens Park stations are under three miles away, giving you another option if you are heading along the coast.

Buses are the backbone for most local journeys. Torquay Coach Station is around 0.4 miles from the centre, Paignton Bus Station is just under three miles, and a new Plainmoor Hub has been proposed nearby. Services link the Torbay towns together, which matters if you work in Paignton or Brixham but live here.

By car, you are well placed for the rest of Devon, though the hills and narrow older streets mean parking can be tight in some residential areas. On foot, the centre is compact and walkable, with shops, the library, pharmacies and gardens all within half a mile of each other. The slopes are the main challenge, so if walking is harder for you, check how steep a particular street is before you commit.

The gardens are the obvious free pleasure here. Princess Gardens and Kings Gardens sit near the harbour, Torre Abbey Meadows is a larger open space around 0.6 miles out, and Brewery Park and Ellacombe Green are handy for a quick walk with children or a dog.

For going out, the town centre has plenty of pubs and bars within a few hundred metres, including the White Hart, The Jolly Judge, Twiggies, Ryan's Bar and Appleby's. Union Square Shopping Centre is right in the middle for shopping and a wander on a wet day.

Film-goers have the 4D Theatre about a mile away and Vue Torbay around 2.6 miles. For exercise, PureGym and Diverse Fitness are both within a mile and a bit, with Third Space Fitness further out towards Paignton. Torquay Central Library is free to join and useful well beyond books. Add the harbour and seafront, and you rarely need to leave town for a day out.

Across the Torbay council area, 50.4% of adults are in work, below the England figure of 57.4%. That partly reflects the older population here, with 26.7% aged 65 and over. Unemployment is lower than average at 2.9%, against 3.5% for England, and 3.3% of working-age people claimed unemployment-related benefits in September 2026, compared with 4% nationally.

In practice that means fewer people in jobs overall, but not a high rate of people actively looking. Tourism and hospitality shape a lot of seasonal work along this coast, and Torbay Hospital, just over a mile from the town centre, is a significant local employer along with Mount Stuart Hospital.

If your work is office-based or specialist, it is worth checking commuting options before you swap. Torquay and Torre stations and the coach station connect you to Paignton and beyond, and Exeter and Plymouth are the nearest larger job markets. Many people here combine local work with travel out a few days a week.