Rankings

Best places to retire in the UK

Reweighted for retirement: healthcare and safety first, the job market all but ignored.

In short

The best UK places to retire are ranked here by triple-weighting healthcare access and double-weighting safety, ahead of environment and cost of living. The current top three are Darlington (78), Middlesbrough (78) and Coatbridge (78).

Overall score reweighted: healthcare x3, safety x2, environment x1.5, cost of living x1.5, employment x0.2.
Ranked from 539 indexed UK areas, rebuilt daily from the latest published figures.
Every area links to a full report with the source behind each figure.

Compiled by the TrackPostcode.UK data team Data last updated 2 November 2026 How we score every area Data sources

Best places to retire in the UK: the top ten, drawn from the same figures as the table below.

Top ten compared across the categories that most often change the answer
#	Area	Nation	Score	Cost of living	Safety	Weather	Broadband
=1	Darlington	England	78	89	41	78	93
=1	Middlesbrough	England	78	88	37	78	98
=1	Coatbridge	Scotland	78	82	46	—	96
=4	South Shields	England	77	86	44	78	94
=4	Sunderland	England	77	88	41	78	96
=4	Grimsby	England	77	93	39	—	96
=4	Lancaster	England	77	82	46	—	92
=4	Stoke-on-Trent	England	77	88	41	—	97
=9	Barnsley	England	76	89	42	65	92
=9	Gateshead	England	76	83	38	78	92

Category scores are 0 to 100 and a dash means that dataset has not loaded for the area yet, in which case it is excluded from the overall score rather than guessed at. Open any area for the full report and its sources.

Best places to retire in the UK: the full ranking

Areas are ranked on whatever categories they have, with the weights renormalised over them, so an area with a gap is scored on its own remaining evidence. Show only areas measured on all twelve categories to compare like with like.

Best in Scotland

1CoatbridgeNorth Lanarkshire, Scotland78 =2PerthPerth and Kinross, Scotland76 =2FalkirkFalkirk, Scotland76 =2PaisleyRenfrewshire, Scotland76 =5InvernessHighland, Scotland75 =5RenfrewRenfrewshire, Scotland75 =7DundeeDundee City, Scotland74 =7AirdrieNorth Lanarkshire, Scotland74 =7AyrSouth Ayrshire, Scotland74 10GalashielsScottish Borders, Scotland73

Best in England

=1DarlingtonDarlington, North East, England78 =1MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough, North East, England78 =3South ShieldsSouth Tyneside, North East, England77 =3SunderlandSunderland, North East, England77 =3GrimsbyNorth East Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England77 =3LancasterLancaster, North West, England77 =3Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, England77 =8BarnsleyBarnsley, Yorkshire and The Humber, England76 =8GatesheadGateshead, North East, England76 =8HartlepoolHartlepool, North East, England76

Best in Wales

1PrestatynDenbighshire, Wales75 2LlanelliCarmarthenshire, Wales74 =3RhylDenbighshire, Wales73 =3SwanseaSwansea, Wales73 =5CarmarthenCarmarthenshire, Wales72 =5MaestegBridgend, Wales72 =5WrexhamWrexham, Wales72 =5LlandudnoConwy, Wales72 =5Port TalbotNeath Port Talbot, Wales72 10BangorGwynedd, Wales71

Ranked from 539 indexed areas by TrackPostcode.UK scores. Coverage grows as more areas are indexed.

About this ranking

How is the retirement ranking weighted?

Healthcare access counts three times its normal share and safety twice, with clean air and cost of living raised, while the local job market is cut to a fifth of its usual weight. Right now the highest are Darlington (78/100), Middlesbrough (78/100), Coatbridge (78/100).

What does the healthcare score actually measure?

Proximity and density of GP surgeries, pharmacies and dentists within about two kilometres of the point, and hospitals within about eight, counted from OpenStreetMap. It measures how close services are, not waiting times or clinical quality.

Does the ranking account for care homes or accessibility?

Not yet. Those are published separately by the care inspectorates of each nation and are not currently in the index. Treat this list as a starting shortlist rather than a complete retirement assessment.

Every ranking

Best places to live Best places for remote workers Best places for families Best places for students Best places under £200,000 Most affordable places Cheapest places to live Safest places Sunniest places Best weather Fastest broadband Cleanest air Best places for jobs Best transport links Most to do Best healthcare access

The same index ordered by a different measurement each time, from the same twelve category scores and rebuilt daily. Each one states on its own page what it measures and what it does not.

What this ranking measures: Overall score reweighted: healthcare x3, safety x2, environment x1.5, cost of living x1.5, employment x0.2. Read the full methodology before quoting a figure.

Primary sources: Office for National Statistics, HM Land Registry, police.uk and Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km climate data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.