Best places in South East 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 South East for families?

As of 2026-06-19, the best South East 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 64 South East local authorities. GeraRent recomputes it quarterly.

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

#	Area	Persona Fit	GLS
1	Bracknell Forest	82.9	76.0
2	Milton Keynes	77.4	70.1
3	Slough	74.6	66.8
4	West Berkshire	74.0	67.5
5	Fareham	73.9	69.5
6	Wokingham	73.8	67.4
7	Medway	73.3	65.2
8	Epsom and Ewell	73.0	69.3
9	West Oxfordshire	72.7	67.5
10	Reading	72.5	65.0
11	Rushmoor	72.4	67.4
12	Gosport	72.3	66.6
13	Portsmouth	71.9	64.5
14	Worthing	71.9	66.3
15	Havant	71.3	64.9
16	Adur	71.2	65.4
17	Horsham	71.0	65.3
18	Vale of White Horse	71.0	64.9
19	Hart	70.7	64.6
20	Mid Sussex	70.6	64.5
21	Cherwell	70.5	64.0
22	New Forest	70.4	63.7
23	Basingstoke and Deane	70.2	63.6
24	Eastleigh	70.2	63.2
25	South Oxfordshire	70.0	63.4
26	Crawley	69.9	63.4
27	Swale	69.9	62.4
28	Eastbourne	69.8	62.4
29	Surrey Heath	69.8	63.4
30	Spelthorne	69.7	63.6
31	Runnymede	69.6	63.2
32	East Hampshire	69.5	62.3
33	Test Valley	69.5	62.2
34	Tunbridge Wells	69.5	62.9
35	Gravesham	69.4	62.3
36	Ashford	69.3	61.9
37	Dover	69.1	60.9
38	Reigate and Banstead	69.1	62.6
39	Elmbridge	68.8	62.7
40	Thanet	68.8	60.7
41	Maidstone	68.7	60.9
42	Windsor and Maidenhead	68.7	66.0
43	Waverley	68.6	61.2
44	Guildford	68.4	61.6
45	Tonbridge and Malling	68.4	60.9
46	Woking	68.3	61.3
47	Chichester	68.0	59.9
48	Mole Valley	68.0	60.5
49	Folkestone and Hythe	67.8	59.0
50	Rother	67.7	58.9
51	Canterbury	67.5	59.0
52	Winchester	67.3	59.1
53	Lewes	67.2	58.5
54	Buckinghamshire	67.1	61.5
55	Southampton	67.0	62.9
56	Wealden	67.0	58.0
57	Dartford	66.9	58.7
58	Sevenoaks	66.9	59.3
59	Tandridge	66.5	58.2
60	Hastings	66.2	56.1
61	Arun	65.6	55.6
62	Oxford	63.1	53.5
63	Brighton and Hove	61.4	53.7
64	Isle of Wight	57.7	56.7

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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.