UK’s happiest places to live: Top ten cities revealed with affordable housing, reliable public transport and safe streets
A new report has revealed the happiest places to live in the UK - here’s the top 10 which boast affordable housing, reliable public transport and safe streets.
It’s grim up north, or so the saying goes - but not according to a new report that names York the happiest UK place to live in. A June 2026 report by property sales firm Housebuyers4u on living standards across UK cities found the Yorkshire spot was the happiest, coming with affordable housing, reliable public transport, and the safest streets in the country.
Elsewhere, the survey revealed people in Ipswich are more satisfied with their lives than any other Britons, with 85% having jobs and just 7% feeling lonely. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Blackburn and Bolton were named among the worst places to live in the UK, with one-in-three residents unemployed and high crime rates.
The research looked at 50-plus major UK cities to see where people are happiest, measuring how satisfied residents feel with their lives on a scale of zero to 10, how safe their neighbourhoods are, and what their surroundings are like in terms of parks, housing, and getting around. The study also tracked how many people feel lonely, how many have jobs, and how often locals search online for things like "am I depressed" or "I can't sleep".
Each city received a score out of 100, with higher numbers meaning happier residents, with York coming out on top. Residents in the city rate their lives 7.65 out of 10, among the highest scores recorded, which combined with low crime rates - 73/100 points in the safety index - put it well ahead of places like London or Manchester.
Most adults in York also have jobs, with an employment rate of 80%, and the majority have active social lives, with only 9% report feeling lonely across the city.
Top 10 happiest UK cities to live
- York
- Ipswich
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Oxford
- Sheffield
- Brighton
- Edinburgh
- Crawley
- Cambridge
- Swindon
Paul Gibbens, property expert at Housebuyers4u, said: "It might sound funny, but British cities were never designed with happiness in mind. They grew around coal mines, shipping ports, and factories where the priority was getting workers close to their jobs. Now we're left with dense urban areas that don't have enough green space or affordable housing.
“When you're living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford a decent place, and there is nowhere to go to clear your head, either, all that stress just builds up. That's how big a role the city you live in actually plays in your well-being."