Preston Town Centre
Preston 017 · 7 sub-areas · 11,224 residents
Preston 017 is a dense, youthful pocket of Preston with around 11,200 residents and a notably transient, renter-heavy population. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for around £720 a month. Nearly half of all households are single-person, and almost half the population is between 18 and 34.
Preston Town Centre is a mid-density neighbourhood of Preston in the North West region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. The population skews young, with a high concentration of 18- to 34-year-olds; the rental market is active and turnover is high — people move through rather than stay.
Overview
What's it like to live in Preston Town Centre?
3 parks and 2 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 23 restaurants and 11 pubs in five minutes; Recorded crime is higher than the national norm — common for built-up urban areas, but worth weighing if you're looking for a quieter base; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £778 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 7 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Preston Town Centre in Preston
Living in Preston Town Centre
Preston 017 has the feel of an area shaped by students and young workers rather than settled families. Single-person households make up nearly half of all homes, and with 43% of residents aged 18 to 34, there's a transience here that's noticeable — short lets, high turnover, a mix of people passing through and those who've stayed longer than expected.
Rents are low by almost any standard. You'll pay around £720 a month for a two-bedroom flat, and a one-bed runs about £570. That affordability comes with a trade-off: the deprivation picture is stark, with the area sitting in the second-lowest decile nationally on the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Owner-occupation here is thin — only around one in four households own their home. The rest split fairly evenly between private renters (just under half) and social housing tenants (around a quarter). That social-housing share is high relative to many urban neighbourhoods and shapes the character of the streets considerably.
For practical matters, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 615 metres away — about an eight-minute walk — and public transport gets you into Manchester in around 42 minutes. Almost a quarter of residents work from home, which is a higher share than you might expect given the income levels here. Broadband coverage is complete, with 100% of premises able to access gigabit speeds. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on how the neighbourhood breaks down.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Preston 017 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. Rents are very low — a two-bed runs around £720 a month — and the rail connection to Manchester is decent. But the area sits in the second-lowest deprivation decile nationally and crime rates are high. It suits people prioritising affordability over everything else, particularly younger renters or students.
- What is the rent in Preston 017?
- A one-bedroom flat averages around £570 a month, a two-bedroom about £720, and a three-bedroom roughly £844. These are estimated figures based on local sale prices scaled from city-level data. Even so, they're among the more affordable in the North West.
- Is Preston 017 safe?
- Crime runs at around 503 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is substantially above the UK national average. The area's high deprivation score is the main driver. It's worth researching specific streets rather than treating the whole neighbourhood as uniform.
- What's the commute from Preston 017 to Manchester?
- By public transport, Manchester takes around 42 minutes from here. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 615 metres away — about an eight-minute walk. It's a workable commute for anyone willing to trade city-centre living costs for Preston rents.
- Who lives in Preston 017?
- Predominantly young renters — 43% of residents are aged 18 to 34, and nearly half of all households are single-person. It's a mixed-tenure area with a high proportion of private renters and a significant social housing stock. Around 35% hold a degree-level qualification.
- What schools are near Preston 017?
- There are 128 schools within 2km, but only around 37% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding school is about 1,940 metres away. Families should research individual schools rather than relying on area averages.
- Is Preston 017 affordable to buy in?
- Very much so by national standards. The median house price is around £120,000 and a typical buyer here could save a deposit in about two years. It's one of the more accessible entry points for first-time buyers in the North West, though the deprivation context is worth understanding first.