UK’s happiest places to live 2025: Rightmove reveals this year’s “happy at home” index

The places people are the most happy with where they live have been revealed in Rightmove’s “happy at home” index 2025. The results showed that margins were small when it came to finding the top 10 and overall more people across the UK are happy than unhappy with where they live.

On average residents in the South West are the happiest with where they live, and those in the East Midlands are least happy, Rightmove said. Of those who believe they would be happier living in a different area, the South West of England is the most popular destination to want to move to.

People who live in a rural location are more likely to say they feel happy where they lived than urban and suburban dwellers. Riverside, woodland or coastal locations are also more likely to have happy residents. The study also revealed residents who live close to a national park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are typically happier than people who do not.

The study also indicated being happy with where you live tends to increase with age, perhaps partly because people tend to have bigger housing budgets as they grow older. Residents aged 18 to 24 are the least likely to be satisfied with where they live and people aged 65 and over are the most likely to feel happy about where they live.

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “Each year our study celebrates all the different things that make us feel happy with where we live – our neighbours, green spaces, having access to important services.

“A lot more goes into choosing an area to live other than the home itself. Being within easy reach of nature and green spaces regularly comes out as an important factor for people, along with having friendly neighbours and feeling you can truly be yourself where you live.”

Top 10 happiest places to live 2025

Here are the happiest places to live in 2025, according to Rightmove, with the region or nation, the average home asking price and the average asking rent per month:

1. Skipton, Yorkshire and the Humber, £326,093, £1,038
2. Richmond upon Thames, London, £942,522, £3,189
3. Camden, London, £1,036,768, £3,523
4. Harrogate, Yorkshire and the Humber, £394,355, £1,535
5. Woodbridge, East of England, £462,734, £1,309
6. Altrincham, North West, £643,244, £2,968
7. Macclesfield, North West, £344,807, £1,407
8. Stirling, Scotland, £226,547, £1,208
9. Cirencester, South West, £472,990, £1,975
10. Hexham, North East, £331,198, £967

Happiest places to live by region

These are the happiest places to live broken down by region, according to Rightmove, with the overall ranking in brackets.

East of England

1. Woodbridge (5)
2. Leigh-on-Sea (16)
3. Stevenage (24)
4. Clacton-on-Sea (25)
5. St Albans (44)

East Midlands

1. Chesterfield (82)
2. Loughborough (120)
3. Derby (121)
4. Lincoln (133)
5. Kettering (151)

North East of England

1. Hexham (10)
2. Newcastle-upon-Tyne (60)
3. Darlington (105)
4. Sunderland (132)
5. Durham (161)

North West of England

1. Altrincham (6)
2. Macclesfield (7)
3. Wirral (22)
4. Kendal (30)
5. Chester (39)

Scotland

1. Stirling (8)
2. Kirkcaldy (56)
3. Edinburgh (69)
4. Inverness (75)
5. Perth (80)

South East of England

1. Maidenhead (14)
2. Horsham (15)
3. Tonbridge (17)
4. Winchester (18)
5. Newbury (29)

South West of England

1. Cirencester (9)
2. Falmouth (11)
3. Dorchester (21)
4. Weymouth (23)
5. Torquay (36)

Wales

1. Anglesey (19)
2. Monmouth (20)
3. Llandrindod Wells (34)
4. Llandudno (35)
5. Cardiff (103)

West Midlands

1. Leamington Spa (12)
2. Lichfield (13)
3. Stratford-on-Avon (28)
4. Shrewsbury (32)
5. Tamworth (33)

Yorkshire and the Humber

1. Skipton (1)
2. Harrogate (4)
3. Whitby (27)
4. York (57)
5. Halifax (70)

London

1. Richmond upon Thames (2)
2. Camden (3)
3. Wandsworth (26)
4. Merton (40)
5. Southwark (51)

More than 19,500 people took part in Rightmove’s survey. The property website sent the survey to people across Britain who had opted in to receive its communications.