A list of the 10 best places to live in England and Wales has been revealed and there is an evident north-south divide. Garrington Property Finders have published their 2025 list after analysing various data sets to find the best place to live. Different criteria were used to come up with the top ten list with general areas analysed including natural beauty, wellbeing, heritage, schools and jobs plus value for money.
The ranking is based on publicly available data. A total of 18 categories were analysed. Among them were proximity to open space, National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, numbers of listed and period homes, air quality, crime figures and the percentage of homes with their closest primary school ranked Outstanding by Ofsted. A total of 1,447 locations with a population of 5,000 or more were examined.
Coming out on top as the best place to live in England and Wales in 2025 is Redbourn in Hertfordshire, described as “a picture-postcard village” that is located just 30 minutes frm Central London.
“Redbourn has two golf courses and traces its history back to Roman times, and it was the scene of one of the first cricket matches ever played – the village common first echoed to the sound of leather on willow in 1666,” the list says.
A typical family home in the village costs well above the English national average at £767,501 but prices have fallen by 8.2% in the past year, putting it at 15th place in the value for money category.
There is a clear north-south divide in the list of the best places to live in England and Wales, with the majority of the top 10 (70%) made up of places in the southern part of Britain.
The top 10 best places to live in England and Wales in 2025 is:
- Redbourn, Hertfordshire
- Epsom, Surrey
- Whitburn, Tyne and Wear
- Marple, Greater Manchester
- St Albans, Hertfordshire
- Alnwick, Northumberland
- Merley, Dorset
- Ewell, Surrey
- Chigwell, Essex
- Ashtead, Surrey
According to the study, average prices rose faster in northern England than in the south during 2024.
Meanwhile in Wales, the highest ranked best place to live is Penarth, described as “an elegant seaside town just three miles from the centre of Cardiff.” A typical family home there costs £502,497.
