Rankings
Best places to live in the UK for remote workers
The same open data, reweighted for people whose office is a spare room: broadband first, commuting last.
In short
The best UK places for remote workers are ranked here by triple-weighting broadband, then cost of living, environment and weather, and all but ignoring transport links. The current top three are Darlington (80), Hartlepool (78) and Ilkeston (78).
- Overall score reweighted: broadband x3, cost of living x1.5, environment x1.5, weather x1.5, transport x0.4.
- 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 | Darlington | England | 80 | 89 | 41 | 78 | 93 |
| =2 | Hartlepool | England | 78 | 97 | 39 | 78 | 97 |
| =2 | Ilkeston | England | 78 | 80 | 51 | 81 | 97 |
| =2 | Stockton-on-Tees | England | 78 | 86 | 38 | 78 | 94 |
| =2 | Sunderland | England | 78 | 88 | 41 | 78 | 96 |
| =2 | Long Eaton | England | 78 | 80 | 54 | 81 | 97 |
| =2 | Middlesbrough | England | 78 | 88 | 37 | 78 | 98 |
| =8 | Chester-le-Street | England | 77 | 92 | 53 | 78 | 88 |
| =8 | Chesterfield | England | 77 | 86 | 45 | 65 | 95 |
| =8 | South Shields | England | 77 | 86 | 44 | 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 live in the UK for remote workers: 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
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 remote worker ranking weighted?
Broadband is weighted three times its normal share, cost of living, environment and weather one and a half times, and transport is cut to four tenths, because a commute you never make should not decide where you live. Right now the highest are Darlington (80/100), Hartlepool (78/100), Ilkeston (78/100).
Where does the broadband data come from?
Ofcom Connected Nations coverage data at local authority level, covering superfast and gigabit availability. It measures what is available to premises rather than the speed any single line achieves.
Should I still check the address itself?
Yes. Broadband is a council-area figure, and availability varies street by street within any authority. Use the ranking to shortlist, then check the specific address with the Ofcom broadband checker before committing.
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: broadband x3, cost of living x1.5, environment x1.5, weather x1.5, transport x0.4. 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.