Tilehurst South
Reading 009 · 5 sub-areas · 8,326 residents
Reading 009 is a residential stretch of Reading, home to around 8,300 people and notable for its unusually high proportion of social housing alongside owner-occupied streets. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,400 a month — above the UK national median for a 2-bed but still considerably cheaper than comparable commuter zones closer to London.
Tilehurst South is a green, lower-density part of Reading — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters.
Overview
What's it like to live in Tilehurst South?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,579 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Tilehurst South in Reading
Living in Tilehurst South
Reading 009 sits in a part of Reading where the housing mix is genuinely varied — you'll find owner-occupied family homes alongside a substantial social rented sector, which accounts for around one in four households. That mix shapes the feel of the area: it's quieter and more settled than Reading's town-centre neighbourhoods, with a family-weighted population and a noticeably older age spread than you'd expect from a university town.
On the cost front, rents here are meaningfully lower than many commuter-belt towns at a similar rail distance from London. A two-bedroom property runs around £1,400 a month, and a three-bedroom comes in at roughly £1,675. That's well above the UK average but significantly cheaper than areas in the Thames Valley closer to the M25. Rents did rise around 3.4% over the past year, so the gap with London hasn't been closing quickly — but it hasn't widened dramatically either.
Who lives here? The age distribution is unusually balanced: under-18s make up nearly a quarter of residents, which is high for an urban area, and the 50-plus cohort is substantial too. Nearly 60% of households own their home, yet there's a 25.8% social housing share that's well above the Reading norm. The degree-educated share — around 26% — is below average for a southern English town of this profile, which tells you this is a working- and mixed-income neighbourhood rather than a graduate-heavy one.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.9 km away — about a 24-minute walk, or a short drive. Almost half of residents commute by car, and nearly a third work from home, so this is very much a car-and-home-office neighbourhood. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets within Reading 009.
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Frequently asked
- Is Reading 009 a nice place to live?
- It depends what you're after. Reading 009 is a settled, family-oriented neighbourhood with a genuine mix of owner-occupied homes and social housing. It's quieter than Reading's centre and more affordable than the Thames Valley's pricier commuter villages. The trade-off is a crime rate above the UK average and a school quality picture that's more mixed than many South East areas.
- What is the rent in Reading 009?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £1,119 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,397, and a three-bedroom around £1,673. These are estimates scaled from Reading-wide data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 3.4% over the past year.
- Is Reading 009 safe?
- Crime runs at around 97 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — above the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's not exceptional by urban standards, but it's toward the higher end of Reading's neighbourhood range. Anti-social behaviour and theft tend to be the dominant categories.
- What's the commute from Reading 009 to London?
- By public transport, London takes around 65 minutes. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.9 km away — about a 24-minute walk. Almost half of residents drive to work, and around a third work from home, so rail commuting is less common here than in some Reading neighbourhoods.
- Who lives in Reading 009?
- A broadly mixed population: nearly a quarter are under 18, reflecting a strong family presence. Around 60% of households own their home, but there's a significant social rented sector at nearly 26%. About a quarter of residents hold a degree — lower than the South East average — and the area is moderately diverse, with 83% UK-born.
- What schools are near Reading 009?
- There are 104 schools within 2 km, so there's no shortage of options. Around 56% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 1.5 km away. It's worth checking individual schools carefully, as quality varies across the catchment area.
- How does Reading 009 compare to other Reading neighbourhoods for families?
- It's one of the more family-oriented parts of Reading, with a high under-18 population share and a good number of larger homes. The social housing stock and mixed tenure make it more economically varied than some Reading suburbs. Rents are mid-range for the town, and schools are adequate but not exceptional compared to other parts of the borough.