Richmond upon Thames has reclaimed its crown as Britain’s happiest place to live. However, Greater London has recorded the lowest overall happiness levels of any region.
Rightmove’s 2026 Happy at Home Index puts Richmond first, ahead of Harrogate and Cirencester.
The findings follow a survey of more than 24,000 residents across 221 locations in Great Britain.
Richmond also topped the rankings in 2023 and finished second last year.
However, while Richmond leads the national table, Barking and Dagenham finishes last.
Richmond tops rankings – but at a price
Richmond’s position comes with a hefty property price tag.
According to Rightmove, the average asking price reached £1,021,256 in October. Meanwhile, average advertised rents stood at £3,298 per month.
By comparison, second-placed Harrogate recorded an average asking price of £395,776. Third-placed Cirencester stood at £407,368.
Chorley, which ranks sixth, offers a cheaper alternative. Its average asking price is £234,387.
Britain’s 20 happiest places to live
| Rank | Location | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond upon Thames | Greater London |
| 2 | Harrogate | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 3 | Cirencester | South West |
| 4 | Monmouth | Wales |
| 5 | Hove | South East |
| 6 | Chorley | North West |
| 7 | Skipton | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 8 | Llandrindod Wells | Wales |
| 9 | Horsham | South East |
| 10 | Hexham | North East |
Places ranked 11–20
| Rank | Location | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Windsor | South East |
| 12 | Kensington and Chelsea | Greater London |
| 13 | Kingston upon Thames | Greater London |
| 14 | Lichfield | West Midlands |
| 15 | Woodbridge | East of England |
| 16 | St Albans | East of England |
| 17 | St Ives | South West |
| 18 | Kirkcaldy | Scotland |
| 19 | Stockport | North West |
| 20 | Altrincham | North West |
Monmouth leads the rankings in Wales, while Kirkcaldy takes Scotland’s top spot.
Meanwhile, last year’s winner, Skipton, slips to seventh nationally.
Green spaces help drive happiness
Eight of the ten happiest locations also performed strongly for access to nature and green spaces.
Richmond ranked first for access to nature, essential services, shops and restaurants. In addition, residents rated the borough highly for employment opportunities and local pride.
However, greenery alone does not explain the results.
Although 52% of respondents would ideally live somewhere rural, 66% want shops and amenities nearby.
Similarly, 62% prioritise green spaces, while 61% value good public transport.
The findings therefore highlight the importance of balancing outdoor space with everyday convenience.
London finishes bottom overall
Across Great Britain, 81% of respondents said they were happy with where they lived. By contrast, just 9% described themselves as unhappy.
The South West recorded the highest average happiness levels. Greater London, meanwhile, finished bottom.
Nevertheless, Rightmove said the differences between regions were relatively small.
Within London, Kensington and Chelsea ranked 12th nationally. Kingston upon Thames followed in 13th place.
However, several other London boroughs finished near the bottom.
Brent ranked 212th, followed by Croydon in 213th and Harrow in 215th.
Meanwhile, Havering finished 217th and Lewisham 219th.
Barking and Dagenham came last out of all 221 locations.
Happiness rises with age
The survey also found that older residents tend to be happier with where they live.
Among those aged 75 and over, 35% awarded their location a perfect happiness score.
By comparison, just 16% of 18–24-year-olds gave the same rating.
Average happiness scores also increased with age.
Younger adults recorded an average of 7.3 out of ten. In contrast, those aged 75 and over averaged 8.2.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “Richmond stands out for offering a combination many people value: easy access to nature and green spaces, without having to give up local services, places to eat and shop, or employment opportunities.
“That balance between greenery and everyday convenience runs through the wider findings. Even among people who would ideally choose a rural setting, access to amenities, parks and public transport remains important. This year’s results suggest that the places people rate most highly aren’t simply urban or rural, but often bring together some of the best elements of both.”
Great Britain’s Happiest Places 2026
| Rank | Place | Region | Average asking price (Oct 2026) | Average asking rent (per calendar month) |
| 1 | Richmond upon Thames | Greater London | £1,021,256 | £3,298 |
| 2 | Harrogate | Yorkshire and The Humber | £395,776 | £1,750 |
| 3 | Cirencester | South West | £407,368 | £1,633 |
| 4 | Monmouth | Wales | £366,782 | £1,395 |
| 5 | Hove | South East | £476,115 | £2,086 |
| 6 | Chorley | North West | £234,387 | £1,011 |
| 7 | Skipton | Yorkshire and The Humber | £304,033 | £1,110 |
| 8 | Llandrindod Wells | Wales | £234,417 | £531 |
| 9 | Horsham | South East | £470,577 | £1,933 |
| 10 | Hexham | North East | £317,332 | £1,329 |
Regional rankings
East Midlands
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Loughborough | 1 | 45 |
| Chesterfield | 2 | 113 |
| Lincoln | 3 | 149 |
| Derby | 4 | 151 |
| Nottingham | 5 | 163 |
| Northampton | 6 | 165 |
| Mansfield | 7 | 177 |
| Leicester | 8 | 182 |
| Kettering | 9 | 197 |
East of England
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Woodbridge | 1 | 15 |
| St. Albans | 2 | 16 |
| Norwich | 3 | 49 |
| Ely | 4 | 54 |
| Hemel Hempstead | 5 | 61 |
| Bury St Edmunds | 6 | 71 |
| Bedford | 7 | 81 |
| Hitchin | 8 | 88 |
| Cambridge | 9 | 90 |
| Huntingdon | 10 | 91 |
| Chelmsford | 11 | 102 |
| Leigh on Sea | 12 | 114 |
| Colchester | 13 | 144 |
| Ipswich | 14 | 146 |
| Bishop’s Stortford | 15 | 157 |
| Hertford | 16 | 160 |
| Watford | 17 | 170 |
| Stevenage | 18 | 171 |
| Basildon | 19 | 200 |
| Peterborough | 20 | 202 |
| Southend on Sea | 21 | 203 |
| Luton | 22 | 208 |
| Clacton on Sea | 23 | 216 |
Greater London
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Richmond upon Thames | 1 | 1 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 2 | 12 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 3 | 13 |
| Westminster | 4 | 41 |
| Wandsworth | 5 | 53 |
| Camden | 6 | 60 |
| Islington | 7 | 66 |
| Southwark | 8 | 67 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 9 | 70 |
| Merton | 10 | 82 |
| City of London | 11 | 118 |
| Bromley | 12 | 128 |
| Lambeth | 13 | 142 |
| Haringey | 14 | 153 |
| Greenwich | 15 | 154 |
| Waltham Forest | 16 | 175 |
| Barnet | 17 | 179 |
| Enfield | 18 | 180 |
| Hackney | 19 | 181 |
| Bexley | 20 | 183 |
| Redbridge | 21 | 185 |
| Hillingdon | 22 | 191 |
| Sutton | 23 | 192 |
| Ealing | 24 | 195 |
| Tower Hamlets | 25 | 196 |
| Newham | 26 | 204 |
| Hounslow | 27 | 207 |
| Brent | 28 | 212 |
| Croydon | 29 | 213 |
| Harrow | 30 | 215 |
| Havering | 31 | 217 |
| Lewisham | 32 | 219 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 33 | 221 |
North East
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Hexham | 1 | 10 |
| Cleveland | 2 | 65 |
| Darlington | 3 | 69 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 4 | 75 |
| Durham | 5 | 132 |
| Gateshead | 6 | 137 |
| Sunderland | 7 | 148 |
| Middlesbrough | 8 | 201 |
North West
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Chorley | 1 | 6 |
| Stockport | 2 | 19 |
| Altrincham | 3 | 20 |
| Chester | 4 | 24 |
| Macclesfield | 5 | 28 |
| Southport | 6 | 31 |
| Kendal | 7 | 35 |
| Wirral | 8 | 38 |
| Northwich | 9 | 55 |
| Carlisle | 10 | 78 |
| Crewe | 11 | 97 |
| Warrington | 12 | 106 |
| Blackburn | 13 | 109 |
| Lancaster | 14 | 115 |
| Burnley | 15 | 125 |
| Preston | 16 | 139 |
| Liverpool | 17 | 140 |
| Blackpool | 18 | 145 |
| Bury | 19 | 158 |
| Manchester | 20 | 166 |
| Salford | 21 | 167 |
| Bolton | 22 | 188 |
| Wigan | 23 | 190 |
| Oldham | 24 | 198 |
| Rochdale | 25 | 205 |
Scotland
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Kirkcaldy | 1 | 18 |
| Perth | 2 | 39 |
| Inverness | 3 | 40 |
| Dundee | 4 | 43 |
| Galashiels | 5 | 47 |
| Stirling | 6 | 52 |
| Aberdeen | 7 | 72 |
| Edinburgh | 8 | 77 |
| Motherwell | 9 | 94 |
| Falkirk | 10 | 103 |
| Ayr | 11 | 116 |
| Glasgow | 12 | 117 |
| Kilmarnock | 13 | 135 |
| Paisley | 14 | 156 |
| Dumfries | 15 | 161 |
South East
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Hove | 1 | 5 |
| Horsham | 2 | 9 |
| Windsor | 3 | 11 |
| Guildford | 4 | 21 |
| Hastings | 5 | 23 |
| Isle of Wight | 6 | 26 |
| Winchester | 7 | 29 |
| Wokingham | 8 | 33 |
| Farnham | 9 | 46 |
| Epsom | 10 | 48 |
| Chichester | 11 | 64 |
| Brighton | 12 | 74 |
| Folkestone | 13 | 79 |
| High Wycombe | 14 | 80 |
| Basingstoke | 15 | 93 |
| Aylesbury | 16 | 101 |
| Sevenoaks | 17 | 105 |
| Tonbridge | 18 | 108 |
| Portsmouth | 19 | 110 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 20 | 112 |
| Canterbury | 21 | 121 |
| Fareham | 22 | 122 |
| Worthing | 23 | 123 |
| Woking | 24 | 127 |
| Southampton | 25 | 129 |
| Oxford | 26 | 130 |
| Milton Keynes | 27 | 131 |
| Eastbourne | 28 | 133 |
| Fleet | 29 | 136 |
| Redhill | 30 | 138 |
| Bracknell | 31 | 150 |
| Banbury | 32 | 155 |
| Ashford, Kent | 33 | 159 |
| Newbury | 34 | 168 |
| Reading | 35 | 169 |
| Ashford, Surrey | 36 | 178 |
| Crawley | 37 | 187 |
| Dartford | 38 | 189 |
| Maidenhead | 39 | 194 |
| Maidstone | 40 | 206 |
| Rochester | 41 | 214 |
| Slough | 42 | 218 |
South West
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Cirencester | 1 | 3 |
| St Ives | 2 | 17 |
| Weymouth | 3 | 22 |
| Torquay | 4 | 27 |
| Cheltenham | 5 | 30 |
| Dorchester | 6 | 44 |
| Falmouth | 7 | 51 |
| Poole | 8 | 58 |
| Yeovil | 9 | 62 |
| Exeter | 10 | 73 |
| Bath | 11 | 83 |
| Gloucester | 12 | 87 |
| Barnstaple | 13 | 89 |
| Plymouth | 14 | 98 |
| Bristol | 15 | 99 |
| Truro | 16 | 100 |
| Bournemouth | 17 | 104 |
| Taunton | 18 | 119 |
| Swindon | 19 | 126 |
| Weston Super Mare | 20 | 134 |
| Salisbury | 21 | 164 |
Wales
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Monmouth | 1 | 4 |
| Llandrindod Wells | 2 | 8 |
| Anglesey | 3 | 50 |
| New Quay | 4 | 56 |
| Swansea | 5 | 59 |
| Llandudno | 6 | 84 |
| Wrexham | 7 | 86 |
| Cardiff | 8 | 95 |
| Caerphilly | 9 | 162 |
| Newport | 10 | 172 |
| Bridgend | 11 | 173 |
West Midlands
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Lichfield | 1 | 14 |
| Leamington Spa | 2 | 25 |
| Shrewsbury | 3 | 34 |
| Tamworth | 4 | 36 |
| Sutton Coldfield | 5 | 37 |
| Stourbridge | 6 | 42 |
| Stratford on Avon | 7 | 57 |
| Worcester | 8 | 63 |
| Telford | 9 | 92 |
| Stafford | 10 | 107 |
| Hereford | 11 | 111 |
| Solihull | 12 | 143 |
| Burton on Trent | 13 | 147 |
| Stoke on Trent | 14 | 152 |
| Coventry | 15 | 184 |
| Dudley | 16 | 193 |
| Wolverhampton | 17 | 209 |
| Birmingham | 18 | 210 |
| Walsall | 19 | 220 |
Yorkshire and The Humber
| Place | Regional rank | National rank |
| Harrogate | 1 | 2 |
| Skipton | 2 | 7 |
| York | 3 | 32 |
| Hull | 4 | 68 |
| Halifax | 5 | 76 |
| Sheffield | 6 | 85 |
| Huddersfield | 7 | 96 |
| Whitby | 8 | 120 |
| Leeds | 9 | 124 |
| Barnsley | 10 | 141 |
| Wakefield | 11 | 174 |
| Grimsby | 12 | 176 |
| Doncaster | 13 | 186 |
| Bradford | 14 | 199 |
| Rotherham | 15 | 211 |
