How is the First-time buyers Persona Fit score weighted?

For first-time buyers the six sub-scores are weighted: Affordability (rent) 40%, Living cost (council tax) 20%, Safety (low crime) 15%, Schools (Ofsted Good+) 10%, Connectivity (broadband) 10%, Health (life expectancy) 5%. 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 first-time buyers right now?

Peterborough (East of England) ranks #1 with 72.0/100, followed by East Suffolk (71.4) and Ipswich (71.1). Recomputed quarterly from the source datasets.

Best places to live in England for first-time buyers

Persona weighting: Affordability (rent) 40%, Living cost (council tax) 20%, Safety (low crime) 15%, Schools (Ofsted Good+) 10%, Connectivity (broadband) 10%, Health (life expectancy) 5%.

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

What is the best place to live in England for first-time buyers?

As of 2026-06-19, the best England local authority for first-time buyers is Peterborough, scoring 72.0/100 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: Peterborough 72.0/100How this is computed

Top 50 areas for first-time buyers

#	Area	Region	Persona Fit	GLS
1	Peterborough	East of England	72.0	67.4
2	East Suffolk	East of England	71.4	65.8
3	Ipswich	East of England	71.1	68.5
4	Erewash	East Midlands	70.7	66.2
5	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	70.4	69.7
6	Derby	East Midlands	70.3	64.3
7	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	70.3	60.1
8	Bracknell Forest	South East	70.2	76.0
9	Chesterfield	East Midlands	70.2	62.3
10	Fenland	East of England	69.9	63.7
11	South Kesteven	East Midlands	69.6	64.4
12	Braintree	East of England	69.4	68.0
13	Amber Valley	East Midlands	69.3	63.7
14	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	69.3	67.8
15	Maldon	East of England	69.3	67.7
16	South Holland	East Midlands	69.3	61.9
17	Torbay	South West	69.3	64.8
18	Great Yarmouth	East of England	69.2	61.5
19	Fareham	South East	69.1	69.5
20	Babergh	East of England	69.0	65.4
21	Gosport	South East	68.8	66.6
22	Milton Keynes	South East	68.8	70.1
23	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	68.7	62.5
24	North Kesteven	East Midlands	68.6	62.7
25	Tendring	East of England	68.6	62.2
26	Boston	East Midlands	68.5	60.3
27	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	68.5	62.9
28	Wigan	North West	68.3	60.0
29	Luton	East of England	68.2	66.5
30	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	68.1	66.2
31	Plymouth	South West	68.0	63.5
32	Dudley	West Midlands	67.9	60.7
33	Huntingdonshire	East of England	67.8	66.2
34	Broadland	East of England	67.7	63.5
35	Havant	South East	67.6	64.9
36	Medway	South East	67.5	65.2
37	Bolsover	East Midlands	67.4	59.0
38	Forest of Dean	South West	67.4	61.4
39	Lincoln	East Midlands	67.3	59.7
40	Mid Suffolk	East of England	67.3	62.6
41	Tewkesbury	South West	67.2	64.0
42	Uttlesford	East of England	67.2	68.2
43	Swindon	South West	67.1	64.6
44	Breckland	East of England	67.0	60.8
45	Norwich	East of England	67.0	64.0
46	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	66.9	60.9
47	Melton	East Midlands	66.9	60.9
48	Bedford	East of England	66.8	64.3
49	West Suffolk	East of England	66.8	64.7
50	Rushmoor	South East	66.7	67.4

By region

First-time buyers in East Midlands First-time buyers in East of England First-time buyers in London First-time buyers in North East First-time buyers in North West First-time buyers in South East First-time buyers in South West First-time buyers in West Midlands First-time buyers 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)8Safety (low crime)3Schools (Ofsted Good+)2Connectivity (broadband)2Health (life expectancy)1Living cost (council tax)4Limit to region (optional)

Your top areas in England

1PeterboroughEast of England72.0
2East SuffolkEast of England71.4
3IpswichEast of England71.1
4ErewashEast Midlands70.7
5Southend-on-SeaEast of England70.4
6DerbyEast Midlands70.3
7Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands70.3
8Bracknell ForestSouth East70.2
9ChesterfieldEast Midlands70.2
10FenlandEast of England69.9
11South KestevenEast Midlands69.6
12BraintreeEast of England69.4
13Amber ValleyEast Midlands69.3
14East CambridgeshireEast of England69.3
15MaldonEast of England69.3
16South HollandEast Midlands69.3
17TorbaySouth West69.3
18Great YarmouthEast of England69.2
19FarehamSouth East69.1
20BaberghEast of England69.0
21GosportSouth East68.8
22Milton KeynesSouth East68.8
23North East DerbyshireEast Midlands68.7
24North KestevenEast Midlands68.6
25TendringEast of England68.6

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.