TrackPostcode.UK

Rankings

Best places to live in the UK for families

Reweighted for families: schools count triple, safety double, and nightlife counts for less.

In short

The best UK places for families are ranked here by triple-weighting school attainment and double-weighting safety, ahead of housing and healthcare access. The current top three are Brecon (73), Airdrie (73) and Falkirk (73).

  • Overall score reweighted: education x3, safety x2, housing x1.5, healthcare x1.5, lifestyle x0.6.
  • 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 How we score every area Data sources

Brecon73Airdrie73Falkirk73Chorley72Coatbridge72Renfrew72Stranraer72Ilkeston71Maesteg71Perth71
Best places to live in the UK for families: the top ten, drawn from the same figures as the table below.
Top ten compared across the categories that most often change the answer
#AreaNationScoreCost of livingSafetyWeatherBroadband
=1BreconWales739367—55
=1AirdrieScotland738246—96
=1FalkirkScotland737648—96
=4ChorleyEngland728349—92
=4CoatbridgeScotland728246—96
=4RenfrewScotland728350—97
=4StranraerScotland729748—68
=8IlkestonEngland7180518197
=8MaestegWales7185616293
=8PerthScotland7186596760

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 live in the UK for families: 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.

=1BreconPowys, Wales · 90% complete73=1AirdrieNorth Lanarkshire, Scotland · 85% complete73=1FalkirkFalkirk, Scotland · 85% complete73=4ChorleyChorley, North West, England · 90% complete72=4CoatbridgeNorth Lanarkshire, Scotland · 90% complete72=4RenfrewRenfrewshire, Scotland · 90% complete72=4StranraerDumfries and Galloway, Scotland · 90% complete72=8IlkestonErewash, East Midlands, England · 100% complete71=8MaestegBridgend, Wales · 100% complete71=8PerthPerth and Kinross, Scotland · 100% complete71=8BarryVale of Glamorgan, Wales · 95% complete71=8DarlingtonDarlington, North East, England · 95% complete71=8FileyNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England · 95% complete71=8Long EatonErewash, East Midlands, England · 95% complete71=8PontypriddRhondda Cynon Taf, Wales · 95% complete71=8LancasterLancaster, North West, England · 85% complete71=8PaisleyRenfrewshire, Scotland · 85% complete71=8KirkwallOrkney Islands, Scotland · 80% complete71=19BostonBoston, East Midlands, England · 100% complete70=19Burton upon TrentEast Staffordshire, West Midlands, England · 100% complete70=19Chester-le-StreetCounty Durham, North East, England · 100% complete70=19ChesterfieldChesterfield, East Midlands, England · 100% complete70=19Melton MowbrayMelton, East Midlands, England · 100% complete70=19PorthcawlBridgend, Wales · 100% complete70=19Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees, North East, England · 100% complete70=19SunderlandSunderland, North East, England · 100% complete70=19TamworthTamworth, West Midlands, England · 100% complete70=19WhitbyNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England · 100% complete70=19BangorGwynedd, Wales · 95% complete70=19DurhamCounty Durham, North East, England · 95% complete70=19PenarthVale of Glamorgan, Wales · 95% complete70=19ScarboroughNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England · 95% complete70=19Whitley BayNorth Tyneside, North East, England · 95% complete70=19BathgateWest Lothian, Scotland · 90% complete70=19BeverleyEast Riding of Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England · 90% complete70=19HamiltonSouth Lanarkshire, Scotland · 90% complete70=19LeylandSouth Ribble, North West, England · 90% complete70=19OrmskirkWest Lancashire, North West, England · 90% complete70=19RuncornHalton, North West, England · 90% complete70=19DunfermlineFife, Scotland · 85% complete70=19LivingstonWest Lothian, Scotland · 85% complete70=42AberdareRhondda Cynon Taf, Wales · 100% complete69=42Bishop AucklandCounty Durham, North East, England · 100% complete69=42CardiffCardiff, Wales · 100% complete69=42KirkcaldyFife, Scotland · 100% complete69=42MansfieldMansfield, East Midlands, England · 100% complete69=42RetfordBassetlaw, East Midlands, England · 100% complete69=42SeahamCounty Durham, North East, England · 100% complete69=42HinckleyHinckley and Bosworth, East Midlands, England · 95% complete69=42NewportNewport, Wales · 95% complete69

Best in Scotland

=1AirdrieNorth Lanarkshire, Scotland73=1FalkirkFalkirk, Scotland73=3CoatbridgeNorth Lanarkshire, Scotland72=3RenfrewRenfrewshire, Scotland72=3StranraerDumfries and Galloway, Scotland72=6PerthPerth and Kinross, Scotland71=6PaisleyRenfrewshire, Scotland71=6KirkwallOrkney Islands, Scotland71=9BathgateWest Lothian, Scotland70=9HamiltonSouth Lanarkshire, Scotland70

Best in England

1ChorleyChorley, North West, England72=2IlkestonErewash, East Midlands, England71=2DarlingtonDarlington, North East, England71=2FileyNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England71=2Long EatonErewash, East Midlands, England71=2LancasterLancaster, North West, England71=7BostonBoston, East Midlands, England70=7Burton upon TrentEast Staffordshire, West Midlands, England70=7Chester-le-StreetCounty Durham, North East, England70=7ChesterfieldChesterfield, East Midlands, England70

Best in Wales

1BreconPowys, Wales73=2MaestegBridgend, Wales71=2BarryVale of Glamorgan, Wales71=2PontypriddRhondda Cynon Taf, Wales71=5PorthcawlBridgend, Wales70=5BangorGwynedd, Wales70=5PenarthVale of Glamorgan, Wales70=8AberdareRhondda Cynon Taf, Wales69=8CardiffCardiff, Wales69=8NewportNewport, Wales69

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

About this ranking

How is the family ranking weighted?

School attainment counts three times its normal share and safety twice, with housing, healthcare and environment raised, and lifestyle reduced. Everything else keeps its standard weight. Right now the highest are Brecon (73/100), Airdrie (73/100), Falkirk (73/100).

Which school measure is used?

Each nation publishes its own and they are not interchangeable: Attainment 8 by local authority in England, average highest SCQF level of school leavers by intermediate zone in Scotland, and the Capped 9 points score by local authority in Wales. Education scores compare within a nation, not across nations.

Does a high family score mean good schools on my street?

Not necessarily. Except in Scotland, attainment is published for a whole council or county, so it describes the authority rather than a catchment. Check individual schools with the relevant inspectorate before deciding.

Every ranking

Best places to liveBest places for remote workersBest places for studentsBest places for retirementBest places under £200,000Most affordable placesCheapest places to liveSafest placesSunniest placesBest weatherFastest broadbandCleanest airBest places for jobsBest transport linksMost to doBest 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.

Read next: the best places to live in the UK, the most affordable places to live, the safest places to live, the sunniest places in the UK, the relocation quiz and how every score is built.

What this ranking measures: Overall score reweighted: education x3, safety x2, housing x1.5, healthcare x1.5, lifestyle x0.6. 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.