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Area report

Is Denbighshire a good place to live?

Denbighshire, Wales

67 / 100
GoodOverall score

Report completeness: 75%. Score is based on the categories with data loaded for this area.

74Remote workers
61Families
67Retirees
65Young professionals
71Students

In short

Denbighshire scores 67 out of 100 overall, putting it in the top 49 per cent of the 539 UK areas we have scored. Its biggest lead is housing, scoring 95 against the Welsh median of 82; its biggest shortfall is transport, 0 against 74.

  • Nearest scored area: Mold, about 10 miles away, scoring 71.
  • Median overall score across the 539 areas in our index: 67 out of 100.
  • Report completeness 75 per cent: categories without data are excluded rather than estimated.

How detailed is this report?

Open data is published at different levels of detail, and this report always uses the most granular level available rather than pretending otherwise.

  • Point-level for this exact location: Healthcare (facilities within about 2 km, hospitals within about 8 km); Transport (stops within 800 m and the nearest railway station); Air quality (the 1 km grid cell containing this point).
  • Council-level, covering all of Denbighshire: Cost of living, Affordability, Housing, Employment, Broadband, Education. Every postcode and town in the council shares these figures.
  • Not scored here: Weather (the nearest Met Office historic station, Shawbury, is 56 km away), too far to describe this location, so it is left out of the overall score.

Research this area further with trusted open data: police.uk street-level crime map, HM Land Registry sold prices, ONS local area profiles, Ofcom broadband checker, StatsWales. This report is open-source intelligence: everything is built from published government and public datasets you can check yourself.

88 / 100
ExcellentAffordability score
£198,995Average price2026-06
5.1xPrice to earningsvs UK median full-time salary
£39,039Earnings assumedONS ASHE, updated annually

With a ten per cent deposit, the average Denbighshire home needs borrowing of 4.6 times a single UK median full-time salary of £39,039, beyond the 4.5 times most lenders will go to, so it takes a second income or a larger deposit. Try your own figures below.

£
£

Guidance only, using standard lending multiples and typical outgoings. Not a mortgage offer or financial advice. TrackPostcode.UK is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; always seek independent professional advice before financial decisions.

95 / 100
ExcellentHousing score
£198,995Average price2026-06
+3.6%Annual change

UK House Price Index for Denbighshire, all property types. Steady growth scores best; sharp falls and overheating both score lower.

Crime and safety

Source: police.uk

Crime data could not be loaded for this location.

Weather and outdoors

Source: Met Office

No weather score for Denbighshire. The nearest Met Office historic station, Shawbury, is 56 km away, beyond the 40 km we accept, so its climate would describe somewhere else. Weather is left out of the overall score here rather than borrowed. Why.

80 / 100
Very goodBroadband score
95.1%Superfast availabilitypremises with 30 Mbit/s or more
79.8%Gigabit availabilitypremises with 1 Gbit/s capable

Ofcom Connected Nations coverage for Denbighshire: the share of premises that can get each service, not the share that has taken it up.

6 / 100
Very challengingEducation score
330.8Capped 9 average points score (interim measure)2024/25
Council levelMeasured atshared by the whole local authority

Local authority average, key stage 4, all pupils. Source: Welsh Government (StatsWales). Each nation publishes its own measure, so this compares within Wales only. How education is scored.

4 / 100
Very challengingHealthcare score
0GP surgerieswithin about 2 km
0Pharmacieswithin about 2 km
0Dentistswithin about 2 km
1Hospitalswithin about 8 km

Counted from OpenStreetMap around this exact point; a nearby GP and pharmacy carry the most weight. How it is scored. Contains OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

51 / 100
FairEmployment score
74%Employment rateaged 16-64
3.4%Unemployment rate
NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026Survey period

ONS Annual Population Survey for Denbighshire, via NOMIS. Most UK councils fall between about 62% and 82% employment.

100 / 100
ExcellentEnvironment score
4.59 µg/m³PM2.5 annual meanWHO guideline: 5 µg/m³
1.99 µg/m³NO2 annual meanWHO guideline: 10 µg/m³
2024Data year

Defra modelled background air for the 1 km grid cell around this point (Crown copyright), scored against the WHO 2021 guidelines.

0 / 100
Very challengingTransport score
0Stops within 800 mbus, tram and metro
20.5 kmNearest railway stationPenyffordd Rail Station
Point-levelMeasured atthis exact location

DfT NaPTAN stops around this exact point. Twelve or more stops within 800 m, and a station within 1 km, each earn full marks.

Cost of living

Source: ONS
88 / 100
ExcellentCost of living score
£709Average monthly rentall property types
Jun-26Data period
22%Rent as share of payof UK median full-time gross pay

Average private rent, from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents. Rent stands in for cost of living because it is the largest living cost and the one that varies most between places.

Lifestyle and amenities

Source: OpenStreetMap

Lifestyle data is being sourced. We only publish figures once they are loaded from OpenStreetMap, so nothing here is estimated or invented.

Who Denbighshire suits

Denbighshire is a markedly better fit for some households than others. It ranks in the top 20% of the 539 areas we have scored for remote workers, and the bottom 27% for families. That gap comes from the same twelve categories weighted differently, which is why one overall score can never answer the question on its own.

How Denbighshire ranks for each type of household
HouseholdScoreStandingWhat it weights
Remote workers74top 20%Weighted towards broadband, cost of living, environment and weather.
Students71top 33%Weighted towards cost of living, lifestyle, transport and safety.
Retirees67top 49%Weighted towards healthcare, safety, environment and cost of living.
Young professionals65bottom 40%Weighted towards employment, lifestyle, transport and broadband.
Families61bottom 27%Weighted towards schools, safety, housing and healthcare.

The same twelve scores, weighted per household. Set your own weights in the relocation quiz.

Stands out on

  • Cost of living
  • Affordability
  • Housing
  • Broadband
  • Environment

Worth checking carefully

  • Transport
  • Healthcare
  • Education

Built only from the categories with data; 3 are still to load for this area.

How Denbighshire compares

Denbighshire compared with every other area we have scored
CategoryDenbighshireWales medianUK medianvs Wales medianUK position
Cost of living888572+3top 9%
Affordability888668+2top 20%
Employment5151590bottom 30%
Housing958283+13top 15%
Transport07475-74bottom 1%
Broadband808688-6bottom 22%
Environment1009991+1top 8%
Healthcare43852-34bottom 1%
Education65340-47bottom 1%

Medians and positions are across the 539 areas in our index. Safety and education are measured differently in each nation, so read those two rows against the Wales median only.

What Denbighshire does well. Measured against everywhere else in the index, the standouts are housing (95, 13 above the median).

Where it falls short. Transport (0, 74 below), education (6, 47 below) and healthcare (4, 34 below).

Near Denbighshire, and places like it

Of the 6 scored areas within about 50 miles of Denbighshire, 5 score higher: Rhyl (72), Prestatyn (72), Mold (71) and 2 others. Denbighshire scores 67. Rhyl is ahead mainly on transport (+76).

Scored areas within about 50 miles of Denbighshire
AreaDistanceWhereOverallBand
Mold10 milesFlintshire, Wales71Very good
Wrexham15 milesWrexham, Wales70Very good
Rhyl17 milesDenbighshire, Wales72Very good
Prestatyn17 milesDenbighshire, Wales72Very good
Oswestry20 milesShropshire, West Midlands, England67Good
Chester20 milesCheshire West and Chester, North West, England68Good

Straight-line distances, so roads are longer. Any place not listed can be searched directly.

Areas with the most similar scoring profile to Denbighshire
AreaWhereOverallAverage gap
IlfordSomerset, South West, England6311.6
RomfordDorset, South West, England6213.2
FraserburghAberdeenshire, Scotland6314.2
WadebridgeCornwall, South West, England6414.9
NeathNeath Port Talbot, Wales7115.7

Average score gap across every category both areas have, so smaller is closer. Neighbouring areas are left out.

What a home in Denbighshire actually costs

Source: HM Land Registry UK HPI

The average home in Denbighshire is £198,995, 26 per cent below the median of the areas we have scored. With a ten per cent deposit of £19,900, repaying the rest costs about £1,154 a month, £445 more than renting at the local average of £709, and needs a household income of about £39,800 to borrow.

The cost of buying in Denbighshire
MeasureFigure
Average property price£198,995 (June 2026)
Change over 12 months+3.6%, rising
Against our index median26% below the £270,569 median across every area we have scored
10% deposit£19,900
15% deposit£29,849
Price to earnings5.1 times UK median full-time earnings of £39,039
Monthly repayment£1,154 on a £179,095 mortgage (10% deposit, 6% over 25 years)
Against renting£445 more than the £709 average monthly rent
Income to borrow itAbout £39,800 a year at 4.5 times income

Council-wide average across all property types; the multiple uses UK median full-time earnings (April 2025 (ONS ASHE)). Illustrative arithmetic, not a mortgage assessment or financial advice; TrackPostcode.UK is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Air quality in Denbighshire, against the limits

Source: Defra modelled background maps

Fine particulates, at 4.6, sit inside the UK 2040 target of 10 and inside the World Health Organization guideline of 5, which few areas manage. Nitrogen dioxide, at 2.0, is well inside the UK limit of 40 and inside the WHO guideline of 10.

Modelled background air quality in Denbighshire, micrograms per cubic metre
PollutantDenbighshireUK objectiveWHO guidelineStanding
Fine particulates (PM2.5)4.6105Inside both
Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)2.04010Inside both

Neighbourhood background levels from the Defra 1 km model; readings beside a busy road are higher. UK figures are the legal limit (NO₂) and 2040 target (PM2.5); WHO figures are health guidelines, not law.

Questions about Denbighshire

Is Denbighshire a good place to live?

Denbighshire has an overall liveability score of 67 out of 100 (good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 75% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on housing and cost of living. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

What is the crime rate in Denbighshire?

Recorded crime for Denbighshire is shown in the crime and safety section, from police.uk for England and Wales or Scottish Government statistics for Scotland.

What is the weather like in Denbighshire?

The weather section shows annual sunshine, rainfall and typical temperatures for Denbighshire from Met Office climate data for the location.

How expensive is it to live in Denbighshire?

Average private rent in the Denbighshire area is about £709 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving Denbighshire a cost-of-living score of 88 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

What are house prices like in Denbighshire?

The average property price in Denbighshire is about £198,995 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed +3.6% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

Can I afford to buy a house in Denbighshire?

The average property in Denbighshire costs about £198,995, which is 5.1 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 88 out of 100. Mainstream lenders usually cap borrowing at around four to four and a half times income, so a ratio above that generally means a larger deposit, a second income or a cheaper property than the local average. With a ten per cent deposit, repaying the rest costs about £1,154 a month at 6% over 25 years, £445 more than the £709 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

How fast is broadband in Denbighshire?

About 95.1% of premises in Denbighshire can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 79.8% can get a gigabit-capable connection, giving a broadband score of 80 out of 100 (Ofcom Connected Nations). These are council-area availability figures - the share of premises able to order each service, not the speed any single line achieves - so check the exact address with the Ofcom broadband checker before committing to it.

What is the job market like in Denbighshire?

74% of 16 to 64 year olds in Denbighshire are in work (NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026, ONS Annual Population Survey via NOMIS), giving an employment score of 51 out of 100. Unemployment stands at 3.4%. UK local authorities typically range from about 62% to 82%. This is a whole-authority figure, so it describes the local labour market rather than any one town within it.

Are the schools good in Denbighshire?

Denbighshire records 330.8 on Capped 9 average points score (interim measure) (2024/25), giving an education score of 6 out of 100. Each nation publishes its own attainment measure and they are not interchangeable, so education scores compare within England, Scotland or Wales and not across them. Attainment is published for the whole council or county rather than for a school catchment, so check individual schools with the inspectorate before deciding.

What is the air quality like in Denbighshire?

For the 1 km grid square containing Denbighshire, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 4.59 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 1.99 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 100 out of 100; an area meeting both guideline levels scores 100. These are modelled background concentrations for the square, not a reading taken at the roadside.

Are there GPs and dentists near Denbighshire?

No GP surgery, pharmacy or dentist is mapped within about two kilometres of this point. 1 hospital is within about eight kilometres. That gives a healthcare score of 4 out of 100. Facilities are counted from OpenStreetMap and the score describes how close services are, not waiting times, capacity or clinical quality.

Does Denbighshire have good transport links?

The nearest railway station is Penyffordd Rail Station, about 20.5 km away, and there are 0 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 0 out of 100. Stops come from the DfT NaPTAN dataset and are counted for this exact point, so the figure measures access rather than how frequently anything runs.

Which council area is Denbighshire in?

Denbighshire is in the Denbighshire local authority, Wales. It falls within the Efenechdyd ward and the Bangor Aberconwy parliamentary constituency. Cost of living, housing, affordability, employment, broadband and education figures in this report are published at local-authority level, so every postcode and town inside Denbighshire shares them. Weather, crime, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point instead.

How does Denbighshire compare with the rest of Wales?

Denbighshire sits in the top 49% of the 539 UK areas we have scored. The median area in the index scores 67 out of 100. It is furthest above the benchmark for its nation on housing. It is furthest below on transport, education and healthcare. Categories are compared against the area's own nation where the samples allow it, because crime and school attainment are measured differently either side of the border.

What are the best places to live near Denbighshire?

Of the areas we have scored within about 50 miles of Denbighshire, the highest are Rhyl (72 out of 100, about 17 miles away), Prestatyn (72 out of 100, about 17 miles away) and Mold (71 out of 100, about 10 miles away). Denbighshire itself scores 67. Distances are straight-line from this point, and each of those names links to its own full report.

Which places are most similar to Denbighshire?

Across the twelve category scores, the closest matches elsewhere in Britain are Ilford (Somerset, South West, England), Romford (Dorset, South West, England) and Fraserburgh (Aberdeenshire, Scotland). Similarity is the average gap across every category both areas have data for, with immediate neighbours excluded, so these are places that score alike rather than places that look alike or sit nearby.

What area does this report cover?

Weather, crime, local amenities, healthcare access, transport access and air quality are measured for this exact point. Cost of living, affordability, housing, employment and broadband come from official statistics for the Denbighshire council area, so nearby postcodes and towns in the same council share those figures. Education comes from the local authority, or from the county where attainment is only published at county level. The "How detailed is this report" section explains each level.