Best places to live & work for working adults with no children
English local authorities ranked by the average Gera Settle Score across all 40 occupations for no children. As family size grows, schools and safety carry more weight.
Where is the best place in England to live and work for working adults with no children?
As of June 2026, the best place in England to live and work for working adults with no children, averaged across 40 occupations, is Stoke-on-Trent (West Midlands), with a mean Gera Settle Score of 94.9/100. The score weights school quality and safety more heavily as family size grows, joining ONS salary to real house-price, Ofsted, crime and GP data. Gera recomputes quarterly.
| # | Local authority | Region | Mean Settle Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke-on-Trent | West Midlands | 94.9 |
| 2 | Sandwell | West Midlands | 92.5 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton | West Midlands | 92.4 |
| 4 | Walsall | West Midlands | 92.0 |
| 5 | Blackburn with Darwen | North West | 91.8 |
| 6 | Dudley | West Midlands | 90.8 |
| 7 | Sunderland | North East | 90.4 |
| 8 | Calderdale | Yorkshire and The Humber | 90.0 |
| 9 | Gateshead | North East | 89.9 |
| 10 | Bradford | Yorkshire and The Humber | 89.5 |
| 11 | South Tyneside | North East | 89.4 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | North East | 89.4 |
| 13 | Cumberland | North West | 89.4 |
| 14 | Darlington | North East | 89.3 |
| 15 | Westmorland and Furness | North West | 89.2 |
| 16 | Blackpool | North West | 89.2 |
| 17 | Hartlepool | North East | 88.9 |
| 18 | Doncaster | Yorkshire and The Humber | 88.9 |
| 19 | Wakefield | Yorkshire and The Humber | 88.4 |
| 20 | Southend on Sea | East of England | 88.1 |
| 21 | Telford and Wrekin | West Midlands | 87.8 |
| 22 | Kirklees | Yorkshire and The Humber | 87.8 |
| 23 | Stockton-on-Tees | North East | 87.6 |
| 24 | Redcar and Cleveland | North East | 87.6 |
| 25 | Leicester | East Midlands | 87.2 |
| 26 | Birmingham | West Midlands | 87.1 |
| 27 | Northumberland | North East | 86.9 |
| 28 | Leeds | Yorkshire and The Humber | 86.9 |
| 29 | Thurrock | East of England | 86.8 |
| 30 | Newcastle upon Tyne | North East | 86.8 |
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Your best places to live and work as a other nursing professionals (UK median £42,300/yr), ranked by Gera Settle Score for working adults with no children:
| # | Local authority | Settle Score | Local pay | Avg price | Yrs to buy | Good+ schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands | 95.0 | £40,594 | £152,101 | 3.7 | 88.1% |
| 2 | WolverhamptonWest Midlands | 92.5 | £40,594 | £215,264 | 5.3 | 90% |
| 3 | SandwellWest Midlands | 92.5 | £40,594 | £212,547 | 5.2 | 89.1% |
| 4 | WalsallWest Midlands | 92.1 | £40,594 | £214,922 | 5.3 | 86.4% |
| 5 | Blackburn with DarwenNorth West | 91.7 | £39,501 | £165,813 | 4.2 | 92.9% |
| 6 | DudleyWest Midlands | 90.9 | £40,594 | £229,829 | 5.7 | 81.8% |
| 7 | SunderlandNorth East | 90.6 | £40,832 | £145,293 | 3.6 | 95.7% |
| 8 | GatesheadNorth East | 90.2 | £40,832 | £158,885 | 3.9 | 96.9% |
| 9 | CalderdaleYorkshire and The Humber | 90.0 | £39,071 | £190,555 | 4.9 | 94.4% |
| 10 | South TynesideNorth East | 89.7 | £40,832 | £156,931 | 3.8 | 92.3% |
| 11 | BradfordYorkshire and The Humber | 89.6 | £39,071 | £188,505 | 4.8 | 89.5% |
| 12 | DarlingtonNorth East | 89.6 | £40,832 | £156,880 | 3.8 | 90.9% |
| 13 | MiddlesbroughNorth East | 89.6 | £40,832 | £139,005 | 3.4 | 95.8% |
| 14 | CumberlandNorth West | 89.3 | £39,501 | £172,186 | 4.4 | 88.9% |
| 15 | HartlepoolNorth East | 89.1 | £40,832 | £129,129 | 3.2 | 87.5% |
Salary is the ONS ASHE full-time regional median for your occupation; every other figure is the real Land Registry, Ofsted, Home Office and NHS value for the area. See the Gera Settle Score methodology.
Other family sizes
Frequently asked questions
- How does family size change the best place to live and work?
- For no children, the Gera Settle Score weights schools at 5%, safety at 25%, affordability at 45% and GP access at 25%. Larger families weight schools and safety higher.
- What is the top area for working adults with no children?
- Stoke-on-Trent (West Midlands) has the highest average Gera Settle Score (94.9/100) across all 40 occupations for working adults with no children, as of June 2026. Source: ONS, Land Registry, Ofsted, Home Office, NHS.
- Is the Gera Settle Score based on real data?
- Yes — every input is a published Open Government Licence v3.0 figure: ONS ASHE salary, HM Land Registry house prices, Ofsted inspection outcomes, Home Office recorded crime and NHS England GP access. Nothing is modelled or estimated. Full method at /methodology/gera-settle-score.
Find a family home in Stoke-on-Trent
Browse rentals and homes in Stoke-on-Trent — the top Settle Score area in England for working adults with no children.
Contains public sector information published by Gera Systems and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Gera Settle Score — ONS ASHE salary joined to HM Land Registry, Ofsted, Home Office and NHS England area data (June 2026, published 19 June 2026).