How is the Families Persona Fit score weighted?

For families the six sub-scores are weighted: Schools (Ofsted Good+) 30%, Safety (low crime) 25%, Affordability (rent) 15%, Connectivity (broadband) 10%, Health (life expectancy) 10%, Living cost (council tax) 10%. Each sub-score is a min-max-normalised 0–100 value over real government data; the weighted average is the Gera Persona Fit. Full method at /methodology/gera-persona-fit.

Which area is best for families right now?

Bracknell Forest (South East) ranks #1 with 82.9/100, followed by Milton Keynes (77.4) and Rutland (75.7). Recomputed quarterly from the source datasets.

Best places to live in England for families

Persona weighting: Schools (Ofsted Good+) 30%, Safety (low crime) 25%, Affordability (rent) 15%, Connectivity (broadband) 10%, Health (life expectancy) 10%, Living cost (council tax) 10%.

Updated quarterly · last recomputed 2026-06-19 from the latest government data releases.

What is the best place to live in England for families?

As of 2026-06-19, the best England local authority for families is Bracknell Forest, scoring 82.9/100 on the Gera Persona Fit index — a persona-weighted composite of rent, crime, Ofsted schools, broadband, life expectancy and council tax across 286 English local authorities, joined from seven government open datasets. GeraRent recomputes it quarterly.

Gera Persona Fit: Bracknell Forest 82.9/100How this is computed

Top 50 areas for families

#	Area	Region	Persona Fit	GLS
1	Bracknell Forest	South East	82.9	76.0
2	Milton Keynes	South East	77.4	70.1
3	Rutland	East Midlands	75.7	66.5
4	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	75.5	69.7
5	Slough	South East	74.6	66.8
6	Ipswich	East of England	74.2	68.5
7	West Berkshire	South East	74.0	67.5
8	Bedford	East of England	73.9	64.3
9	Fareham	South East	73.9	69.5
10	Wokingham	South East	73.8	67.4
11	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	73.7	67.8
12	Uttlesford	East of England	73.6	68.2
13	Braintree	East of England	73.5	68.0
14	Maldon	East of England	73.5	67.7
15	Medway	South East	73.3	65.2
16	Epsom and Ewell	South East	73.0	69.3
17	Luton	East of England	73.0	66.5
18	East Suffolk	East of England	72.9	65.8
19	North Somerset	South West	72.9	65.8
20	Huntingdonshire	East of England	72.7	66.2
21	West Oxfordshire	South East	72.7	67.5
22	Peterborough	East of England	72.5	67.4
23	Reading	South East	72.5	65.0
24	Babergh	East of England	72.4	65.4
25	Rushmoor	South East	72.4	67.4
26	Brentwood	East of England	72.3	67.0
27	Gosport	South East	72.3	66.6
28	Rochford	East of England	72.3	66.1
29	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	72.1	65.1
30	Portsmouth	South East	71.9	64.5
31	Torbay	South West	71.9	64.8
32	Worthing	South East	71.9	66.3
33	Chelmsford	East of England	71.7	65.5
34	Fenland	East of England	71.6	63.7
35	West Suffolk	East of England	71.6	64.7
36	Plymouth	South West	71.5	63.5
37	Broadland	East of England	71.3	63.5
38	Cambridge	East of England	71.3	65.8
39	Central Bedfordshire	East of England	71.3	63.6
40	Havant	South East	71.3	64.9
41	Norwich	East of England	71.3	64.0
42	Adur	South East	71.2	65.4
43	South Cambridgeshire	East of England	71.2	64.7
44	Horsham	South East	71.0	65.3
45	St Albans	East of England	71.0	65.8
46	Three Rivers	East of England	71.0	65.4
47	Vale of White Horse	South East	71.0	64.9
48	North Hertfordshire	East of England	70.9	64.1
49	Basildon	East of England	70.8	63.9
50	Hart	South East	70.7	64.6

By region

Families in East Midlands Families in East of England Families in London Families in North East Families in North West Families in South East Families in South West Families in West Midlands Families in Yorkshire and The Humber

Adjust the weights to your own priorities

Set how much each factor matters to you (0 = ignore, 10 = top priority). The ranking updates instantly against your weights.

Affordability (rent)3Safety (low crime)5Schools (Ofsted Good+)6Connectivity (broadband)2Health (life expectancy)2Living cost (council tax)2Limit to region (optional)

Your top areas in England

1Bracknell ForestSouth East82.9
2Milton KeynesSouth East77.4
3RutlandEast Midlands75.8
4Southend-on-SeaEast of England75.5
5SloughSouth East74.6
6IpswichEast of England74.2
7West BerkshireSouth East74.0
8BedfordEast of England73.9
9FarehamSouth East73.9
10WokinghamSouth East73.8
11East CambridgeshireEast of England73.7
12BraintreeEast of England73.5
13MaldonEast of England73.5
14UttlesfordEast of England73.5
15MedwaySouth East73.3
16Epsom and EwellSouth East73.0
17LutonEast of England73.0
18East SuffolkEast of England72.9
19North SomersetSouth West72.9
20HuntingdonshireEast of England72.7
21West OxfordshireSouth East72.7
22PeterboroughEast of England72.5
23ReadingSouth East72.5
24BaberghEast of England72.4
25RushmoorSouth East72.4

Score = your weights applied to each area’s real, normalised sub-scores. The underlying figures come from seven UK government open datasets — see the methodology.

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Sources (all Open Government Licence v3.0):

ONS — Price Index of Private Rents — as of May 2026.
HM Land Registry — UK House Price Index — as of April 2026.
MHCLG — Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England — as of 2026-27.
Ofcom — Connected Nations (Gera Broadband Index) — as of July 2024.
ONS — Life expectancy by local authority — as of 2017-19.
Ofsted — State-funded school inspection outcomes — as of 31 May 2026.
Home Office — Police recorded crime (PFA) + ONS population — as of Year ending December 2025.

Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright. Recorded-crime figures are neutral official statistics shown as context only and must not be used to characterise an area or its residents.