Richmond upon Thames crowned 2026’s happiest place to live

November 11, 2026
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  • Richmond upon Thames has been crowned the happiest place to live in Great Britain, reclaiming the top spot after winning in 2023 and finishing second last year
  • In second place is Harrogate in Yorkshire and the Humber, and in third place is Cirencester, Gloucestershire in the South West
  • Kirkcaldy is the happiest place in Scotland, and Monmouth tops the list in Wales
  • Eight of the ten happiest places are also among the best for access to nature and green spaces
  • Four in five (81%) people across Great Britain rate themselves as happy with where they live, compared with 9% who say they are unhappy
  • On average, residents in the South West are the happiest, and those in Greater London are the least happy overall, despite Richmond taking the top spot
  • Happiness with where we live increases with age: More than a third (35%) of over-75s give where they live a perfect 10 for happiness, compared with just 16% of 18–24-year-olds

 

Richmond upon Thames has been named the happiest place to live in Great Britain in Rightmove’s 15th annual Happy at Home Index.

 

More than 24,000 residents across 221 locations told Rightmove how happy they feel about where they live, rating everything from access to nature and green spaces to local services, amenities and employment opportunities.

 

Richmond upon Thames returns to number one after previously winning in 2023 and finishing second last year. Residents of the south-west London borough gave their area the highest average happiness score of all the locations included in this year’s study.

 

Richmond also ranked particularly highly across several aspects of local life. It came first in Great Britain for access to nature and green spaces, essential local services, shops and restaurants, employment opportunities and desirable jobs, as well as residents’ pride in their area.

 

Harrogate in Yorkshire and the Humber takes second place, while Cirencester, Gloucestershire in the South West is third.

Monmouth is the highest-ranked place in Wales, while Kirkcaldy takes the top spot in Scotland.

 

Last year’s winner Skipton, also remains among Britain’s ten happiest places to live, ranking seventh in this year’s study.

 

What the happiest places have in common

 

Nature and green space feature strongly among the happiest places, with eight of the top ten also ranking highly for access to them.

 

Richmond ranks first for access to nature, while also topping the rankings for essential local services, shops and restaurants, and employment opportunities.

 

Second-placed Harrogate also ranked highly for access to nature and green spaces, as well as residents’ agreement with the statement: “I can be myself.”

 

People are looking for a balance of greenery and convenience. While 52% would ideally live somewhere rural, 66% want shops and amenities nearby, 62% want green spaces and 61% want good public transport.

 

Across Great Britain, four in five people (81%) are happy with where they live, compared with just 9% who are unhappy.

On average, the South West has the highest happiness rating, while Greater London has the lowest, although differences between the regions are small.

 

More than a third (35%) of people aged 75 and over give where they live a perfect 10 for happiness, compared with 16% of 18–24-year-olds.

 

The pattern continues across the age groups, with average happiness rising from 7.3 out of 10 among 18–24-year-olds to 8.2 among those aged 75 and over.

 

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.”

 

The Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, Councillor Nancy Baldwin, said: “It is wonderful to see Richmond upon Thames recognised as the happiest place to live in Great Britain. This recognition is especially meaningful because residents highlighted their pride in the local area, our beautiful parks and green spaces, and the local services they rely on every day.

 

“Above all, it is our people and communities that make Richmond special. I am proud to serve as Mayor and to celebrate everything that makes our borough such a happy place to call home.”

 

Amy Reynolds, Head of Sales, Antony Roberts said: ““We see it every week. Families are drawn to Richmond for its excellent schools and green spaces, and they stay for the strong sense of community. With Richmond Park and the Thames on the doorstep, a thriving town centre and plenty of places to eat, shop and spend time, it offers a quality of life that’s hard to match in London. Add in the easy journey into central London, and it’s easy to see why people are so happy to call Richmond home.”

 

Graham Price, Director at Randall Price said: “What makes Richmond upon Thames such a happy place to live is the balance it offers. There’s a real sense of community, plenty going on locally, and people can enjoy the best of both worlds: a great place to call home while still feeling well connected. It’s the kind of area people put down roots in, and once they’re here, many don’t want to leave.”

 

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

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