A London suburb has been crowned the happiest place to live in Britain, reclaiming the top spot after previously triumphing in 2023.
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suburb → crown → 2023
The borough's residents were most likely to say they were happy with where they lived in Rightmove's Happy at Home Index.
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they → say → Index
This put it at the top of the property website's 221-strong list which we reveal in full below, from the best to the worst.
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we → put → worst
More than 24,000 people across Britain took part in the survey, rating their area on everything from access to nature and green spaces to local services, amenities and employment opportunities.
Winner:
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people → take → services
Richmond upon Thames has been crowned the happiest place to live in Britain
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Richmond → crown → Britain
Residents in Richmond upon Thames, an affluent area in the south-west of the capital, ranked the area number one thanks to its parks, shops and restaurants, job opportunities, local services and the fact people took pride in the area.
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people → rank → area
Councillor Nancy Baldwin, Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, said: 'This recognition is especially meaningful because residents highlighted their pride in the local area, beautiful parks and green spaces, and the local services they rely on every day.'
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they → say → area
Speaking to This is Money, Nikki Slater, a director at estate agents N&N Richmond, said: 'It's beautiful, sociable and somewhat improbable.
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It → speak → Richmond
Richmond combines extraordinary natural beauty - a beguiling sweep of The Thames & the splendour of Richmond Park - with all the advantages of having London on its doorstep.
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Richmond → combine → doorstep
'There are moments when it feels like living in the country except you can still get a decent flat white at five o'clock on a Sunday.'
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you → be → Sunday
Prospective buyers looking to purchase a home in Richmond upon Thames typically need deep pockets.
Rightmove said the average asking price last month was £1.02million, while the average monthly rent was £3,298.
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rent → look → pockets
Richmond upon Thames has more than 500 hectares of green areas, including Kew Gardens and Bushy Park.
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Richmond → have → Gardens
It is also home to Hampton Court Palace and is where the hit Netflix show Ted Lasso was filmed.
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show → film → Palace
Harrogate was dubbed the second happiest place to live in Britain
Harrogate in Yorkshire and the Humber was second place in the happiest places to live in Britain, Rightmove said.
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Rightmove → dub → Britain
It ranked highly for access to nature and green spaces, as well as residents’ agreement with the survey statement: 'I can be myself.'
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I → rank → statement
The North Yorkshire spa town is noted for its bustling tea rooms and well-preserved Victorian heritage.
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town → note → rooms
It is renowned for its 'healing' mineral waters and has one of Britain's last fully working Victorian Turkish baths.
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It → renowne → baths
It previously topped the list of the happiest places to live in Britain for three consecutive years.
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It → top → years
Average property asking prices reached £395,776 last month.
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prices → reach → 395,776
Tenants renting a property in the town pay around £1,750 a month, which is £1,548 less than someone in Richmond upon Thames typically pays.
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someone → rent → Thames
Cirencester was found to be the third happiest location in Britain to live, with residents scoring the town in Gloucestershire highly.
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residents → find → Gloucestershire
The town, which is the largest in the Cotswolds, is known for its impressive architecture and independent shops.
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which → know → architecture
It is also possible to visit the Roman Cirencester Amphitheatre on the outskirts of the town.
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It → visit → town
Average asking prices were £407,368 last month, while the average cost of renting was £1,633 per month.
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cost → rent → month
Monmouth in Wales was the fourth happiest place to live in Britain this year.
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Monmouth → live → Britain
Monmouth is known for its picturesque streets filled with quaint cafes, restaurants and shops.
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Monmouth → know → cafes
Buyers can expect average asking prices of around £366,782, while the average cost of renting was £1,395 a month in October.
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cost → expect → October
Hove on the south-east coast was the fifth happiest location to live in Britain, Rightmove said.
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Rightmove → live → Britain
Hove, near Brighton, has handsome squares, crescents and leafy communal gardens along the seafront.
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Hove → have → seafront
Average asking property prices in Hove were £476,115 last month, so it's not a cheap place to live.
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it → ask → Hove
Tenants can expect to shell out £2,086 a month.
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Tenants → expect → 2,086
Chorley, Skipton, Llandrindod Wells, Horsham and Hexham also made it into the list of the top ten happiest locations to live in Britain.
Having come out on top as the happiest place to live in Britain last year, Skipton in North Yorkshire only scraped seventh place this year.
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Skipton → make → place
The gloomiest places to live in Britain
At the other end of the spectrum, residents in Barking and Dagenham in Greater London were found to be the most disgruntled in Britain about where they lived.
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they → live → Britain
Residents in Barking and Dagenham were found to be the least satisfied about where they live, making the Greater London location the worst in Britain, according to the data.
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location → find → data
It was also the gloomiest place to live in the 2025 rankings.
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It → live → rankings
The overall crime rate in Barking and Dagenham in 2026 was 81 crimes per 1,000 people, which was slightly below the London average.
But in March 2025 Barking and Dagenham had the worst crime rate in London for robbery, with 116 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.48 per 1,000 daytime population.
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Barking → report → population
Earlier this year, it was identified as England's most unfriendly town in an Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion study using data from the Government's Community Life Survey.
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it → identify → Survey
According to the Office for National Statistics, the average asking price for a home in Barking and Dagenham in August 2026 was £370,000.
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price → accord → August
Walsall in the West Midlands was labelled by residents as the second gloomiest place to live in across Britain, Rightmove said.
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Rightmove → label → Britain
Earlier this year, it was named Britain's worst town for quality of life as one local said it was like living in a 'real-life episode of Shameless'.
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it → name → Shameless
…and 6 more, not listed.
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