What are the best places to live and work in the UK?
Find the best cities to live, work and raise a family in the UK
Click on the map pins below to get the low down on some of the UK's best places to live according to our own liveability index. This ranked Britain’s towns and cities with over 200,000 residents.
Covering aspects like average salary, rent, property prices and commuting costs, as well as where each city ranks for quality of life, you can use our interactive map to find out which UK cities offer the most bang for your buck.
The happiness and satisfaction ranking give an idea of the quality of life in each specific area. They were determined by access to amenities, entertainment and services. Cross-referencing this with key living costs such as rent, property prices and commuting costs, should help you decide where the best places to live and work in the UK are.
Location Rank
Sunderland 1
Leeds 2
Aberdeen 3
Milton Keynes 4
Liverpool 5
Derby 6
Swindon 7
Leicester 8
York 9
Nottingham 10
Sheffield 11
Portsmouth 12
Stoke-on-Trent 13
Glasgow 14
Coventry 15
Dudley 16
Reading 17
Edinburgh 18
Southampton 19
Wolverhampton 20
Birmingham 21
Luton 22
London 23
Brighton 24
Bradford 25
Bristol 26
Manchester 27
Newcastle 28
Salford 29
Swansea 30
Northampton 31
Plymouth 32
Cardiff 33
Hull 34
Warrington 35
What are the best cities in the UK?
According to our research the best places for under 30s to live and work are:
- Sunderland
- Leeds
- Aberdeen
- Milton Keynes
- Liverpool
- Derby
- Swindon
- Leicester
- York
- Nottingham
The top ten is dominated by northern cities Sunderland, Leeds, Liverpool, Derby, Leicester, York and Nottingham. Aberdeen, Milton Keynes and Swindon were the only cities outside of northern England to make the list.
Sunderland was our overall winner.
What are the cheapest places to live in the UK?
Sunderland has the cheapest average property price of any of the places on the list, although Milton Keynes is the most cost-efficient place to live, having the largest discrepancy between living costs and average income.
What are the safest places to live in the UK?
According to a survey conducted by OnePoll Newcastle is the safest UK city with a population of greater than 200,000.
- Newcastle
- Aberdeen
- Plymouth
- York
- Swansea
- Southampton
- Edinburgh
- Cardiff
- Brighton and Hove
- Glasgow
Note: Whilst we take care to ensure Talking Finance content is accurate at the time of publication, individual circumstances can differ so please don’t rely on it when making financial decisions.