Gera Liveability Index
One 0-100 score per English local authority, across five pillars, joined from six UK government open datasets.
Which UK local authority is the best place to live overall, balancing house prices, school quality, low crime, fast broadband and GP access?
As of June 2026, Stoke-on-Trent has the highest Gera Liveability Score in England at 84.5 out of 100 — the top of a ranking of 130 single-tier local authorities. The Gera Liveability Score is a weighted composite (affordability, safety, schools, connectivity, healthcare) that Gera joins from six UK government open datasets and re-computes each quarter; no other source publishes it.
The five pillars
Affordabilityweight 0.3
Average house price (60%) and Band D council tax (40%), lower is better.
Safetyweight 0.2
Recorded crime rate per 1,000 residents for the area’s police force, lower is better.
Schoolsweight 0.2
% of state schools rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
Connectivityweight 0.15
Gera Broadband Index over Ofcom availability, higher is better.
Healthcareweight 0.15
Gera GP Access Score for the area’s NHS ICB, higher is better.
Top 20 places to live (national average 72.2/100)
| # | Local authority | GLS | Avg price | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands | 84.5 | £152,101 | 88% |
| 2 | Southend on SeaEast of England | 84.3 | £327,030 | 89% |
| 3 | WolverhamptonWest Midlands | 82.9 | £215,264 | 90% |
| 4 | LeedsYorkshire and The Humber | 81.7 | £246,882 | 92% |
| 5 | Kingston upon HullYorkshire and The Humber | 81.4 | £135,051 | 90% |
| 6 | DoncasterYorkshire and The Humber | 81.0 | £173,624 | 96% |
| 7 | SandwellWest Midlands | 80.9 | £212,547 | 89% |
| 8 | WakefieldYorkshire and The Humber | 80.9 | £196,895 | 84% |
| 9 | Milton KeynesSouth East | 80.8 | £318,038 | 95% |
| 10 | Bracknell ForestSouth East | 80.7 | £397,667 | 100% |
| 11 | DudleyWest Midlands | 80.3 | £229,829 | 82% |
| 12 | LeicesterEast Midlands | 79.8 | £234,631 | 84% |
| 13 | Blackburn with DarwenNorth West | 79.4 | £165,813 | 93% |
| 14 | HartlepoolNorth East | 79.4 | £129,129 | 88% |
| 15 | SloughSouth East | 79.2 | £338,287 | 94% |
| 16 | PeterboroughEast of England | 78.9 | £236,378 | 85% |
| 17 | ThurrockEast of England | 78.9 | £328,942 | 79% |
| 18 | SunderlandNorth East | 78.8 | £145,293 | 96% |
| 19 | LutonEast of England | 78.5 | £283,357 | 88% |
| 20 | BradfordYorkshire and The Humber | 78.3 | £188,505 | 90% |
Build your personalised liveability ranking
A young professional, a family and a retiree want different things. Set your own weights and the ranking is yours.
Drag the sliders to match your priorities. The ranking re-computes instantly from the same real government figures behind every Gera Liveability Score — this is your personal ranking, not the default.
| # | Local authority | Your score | Avg price | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands | 84.5 | £152,101 | 88% |
| 2 | Southend on SeaEast of England | 84.3 | £327,030 | 89% |
| 3 | WolverhamptonWest Midlands | 82.9 | £215,264 | 90% |
| 4 | LeedsYorkshire and The Humber | 81.7 | £246,882 | 92% |
| 5 | Kingston upon HullYorkshire and The Humber | 81.4 | £135,051 | 90% |
| 6 | DoncasterYorkshire and The Humber | 81.0 | £173,624 | 96% |
| 7 | SandwellWest Midlands | 80.9 | £212,547 | 89% |
| 8 | WakefieldYorkshire and The Humber | 80.9 | £196,895 | 84% |
| 9 | Milton KeynesSouth East | 80.8 | £318,038 | 95% |
| 10 | Bracknell ForestSouth East | 80.7 | £397,667 | 100% |
Showing your top 10 of 130. Default weights match the published Gera Liveability Score; change them and the ranking is yours.
Questions and answers
- Which UK local authority is the best place to live overall, balancing house prices, school quality, low crime, fast broadband and GP access?
- As of June 2026, Stoke-on-Trent has the highest Gera Liveability Score in England at 84.5 out of 100 — the top of a ranking of 130 single-tier local authorities. The Gera Liveability Score is a weighted composite (affordability, safety, schools, connectivity, healthcare) that Gera joins from six UK government open datasets and re-computes each quarter; no other source publishes it.
- What is the Gera Liveability Score?
- The Gera Liveability Score (GLS) is a 0-100 composite that Gera computes for each English single-tier local authority by joining six UK government open datasets: house prices (HM Land Registry), council tax (MHCLG), broadband (Ofcom), schools (Ofsted), recorded crime (Home Office) and GP access (NHS England). Each input is normalised 0-100 and combined with published weights — affordability 0.3, safety 0.2, schools 0.2, connectivity 0.15, healthcare 0.15.
- Which areas are covered?
- 130 single-tier English local authorities (unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs) for which all six inputs are available at a 1:1 local-authority granularity. Two-tier county districts are excluded because their housing figures are not published at the same level as schools, crime and GP data — excluding them keeps every score directly comparable.
- How often is it updated?
- Quarterly. The underlying datasets refresh on government cadences (Land Registry monthly, Ofsted monthly, Ofcom annually, crime quarterly, NHS monthly); the current edition is as of June 2026 (last computed 2026-06-19).
Find your next home
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Browse rental listingsSources: HM Land Registry, MHCLG, Ofcom, Ofsted, Home Office and NHS England — all Open Government Licence v3.0. The Gera Liveability Score is computed by GeraRent from these figures; methodology at /methodology/gera-liveability-index.