Thames Ditton
Elmbridge 005 · 4 sub-areas · 6,564 residents
Elmbridge 005 is a well-heeled corner of Elmbridge in the South East, home to around 6,500 people and one of the most car-dependent, owner-occupied patches in the region. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,540 a month — above the national average but reflecting the area's prosperity. Rents have eased slightly over the past year, down around 3%.
Thames Ditton is a commuter neighbourhood within Elmbridge — train into London runs in around 9 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. The demographic profile leans family-aged, with a clear share of households with school-age children; most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Thames Ditton?
The area is unusually green for its density — 5 parks and 2 playgrounds sit within five minutes' walk of the centroid; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents sit firmly in the upper bracket nationally, with a typical home letting at around £1,832 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Thames Ditton in Elmbridge
Living in Thames Ditton
This part of Elmbridge sits firmly in affluent commuter-belt territory. Nearly four in five homes are owner-occupied, green space is genuinely close — the nearest park or open land is under 250 metres away on average, and around 73% of residents are within easy walking distance of meaningful greenspace. The deprivation picture tells you what the house prices confirm: this is one of the least deprived areas in England, sitting in the top few per cent nationally.
The cost of living here is high, no question. The median property sold for just under £894,000, and even for renters the monthly outlay is substantial — a one-bedroom runs around £1,220 a month, a two-bedroom roughly £1,540, and a three-bedroom climbs to about £1,870. Council tax (Band D) adds another £2,558 a year. Renters typically spend well over 60% of take-home pay on rent, which is a significant stretch even against the area's above-average salaries.
The people who live here reflect the owner-occupied, family-oriented character. Couples with children make up the single largest household type — over a third of all households — and under-18s account for one in four residents. The 35–49 age bracket is strongly represented, and more than six in ten residents hold a degree-level qualification. This isn't a transient renter-heavy neighbourhood; most people have put down roots.
Practically speaking, connectivity is strong for those heading into London. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 550 metres away — about a seven-minute walk — and the public transport journey to London comes in under ten minutes at its fastest. That said, most residents don't rely on public transport day-to-day: nearly two-thirds work from home, and only around 7% commute by public transport, with 22% using the car. Broadband is 100% gigabit-capable across the area. For sub-areas and individual streets, see the streets and sub-areas listed below.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Elmbridge 005 a nice place to live?
- It's one of the least deprived areas in England, with low crime, strong greenspace access, and excellent rail connections to London. The trade-off is cost — property prices close to £900,000 and rents that absorb well over half of take-home pay make it tough for anyone not already on a high income or owning their home.
- What is the rent in Elmbridge 005?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,220 a month, a two-bedroom roughly £1,540, and a three-bedroom about £1,870. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents dipped around 3% over the past year.
- Is Elmbridge 005 safe?
- Yes — the crime rate is around 37 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, less than half the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's one of the lower-crime neighbourhoods in the South East, consistent with its very low deprivation score.
- What's the commute from Elmbridge 005 to London?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 550 metres away — a seven-minute walk — and the public transport journey to London can be under ten minutes at its fastest. That said, most residents here work from home: around 63% do so, and only about 7% use public transport to commute.
- Who lives in Elmbridge 005?
- Mostly settled, professional families. Over a third of households are couples with children, nearly four in five homes are owner-occupied, and 62% of residents hold a degree-level qualification. The typical resident is in their late 30s or 40s, well-educated, and likely working from home at least part of the week.
- What schools are near Elmbridge 005?
- There are 36 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 53% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national average of ~89%, so it's worth checking individual school ratings carefully. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is just over 1.1 km away, about a 14-minute walk.
- How affordable is buying a home in Elmbridge 005?
- It's genuinely tough. The median sale price is close to £894,000, and saving a 10% deposit on a typical local salary takes around 10.5 years. Even with above-average resident earnings of roughly £42,600 a year, homeownership here requires either significant equity from a previous property or substantial outside capital.