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 South Shields (77), Sunderland (77) and Barnsley (76).
- 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.
| # | Area | Nation | Score | Cost of living | Safety | Weather | Broadband |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | South Shields | England | 77 | 86 | 44 | 78 | 94 |
| =1 | Sunderland | England | 77 | 88 | 41 | 78 | 96 |
| =3 | Barnsley | England | 76 | 89 | 42 | 65 | 92 |
| =3 | Gateshead | England | 76 | 83 | 38 | 78 | 92 |
| =3 | Hartlepool | England | 76 | 97 | 39 | 78 | 97 |
| =3 | Jarrow | England | 76 | 86 | 57 | 78 | 94 |
| =3 | Perth | Scotland | 76 | 86 | 59 | 67 | 60 |
| =8 | Chester-le-Street | England | 75 | 92 | 53 | 78 | 88 |
| =8 | Chesterfield | England | 75 | 86 | 45 | 65 | 95 |
| =8 | Stockton-on-Tees | England | 75 | 86 | 38 | 78 | 94 |
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
Showing only areas measured on all twelve categories. 327 otherwise-eligible areas are hidden because at least one category has no data - most often crime, which Greater Manchester Police do not publish at street level. Show all areas.
Best in Scotland
Best in England
Best in Wales
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 South Shields (77/100), Sunderland (77/100), Barnsley (76/100).
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
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.