Is New Forest a good place to live?

New Forest has an overall liveability score of 57 out of 100 (good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 90% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on housing and broadband. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

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

New Forest averages 1,671 sunshine hours and about 912 mm of rain a year, giving an outdoor score of 76 out of 100. Summer highs average 22.4°C and winter lows 2.8°C. Based on the Met Office Hurn station, 19 km away.

Average private rent in the New Forest area is about £1,238 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving New Forest a cost-of-living score of 57 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

The average property price in New Forest is about £380,310 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed +1.2% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

The average property in New Forest costs about £380,310, which is 9.7 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 37 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 £2,205 a month at 6% over 25 years, £967 more than the £1,238 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

About 97.1% of premises in New Forest can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 74% 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.

79.8% of 16 to 64 year olds in New Forest are in work (NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026, ONS Annual Population Survey via NOMIS), giving an employment score of 67 out of 100. 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.

New Forest records 46.5 on Attainment 8 average score (202425), giving an education score of 40 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.

For the 1 km grid square containing New Forest, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 5.44 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 4.97 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 97 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.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 59 mapped amenities, including 18 places to eat and drink, 24 shops, 9 parks and sports facilities and 3 cultural and community venues, giving a lifestyle score of 25 out of 100. Counts come from OpenStreetMap and are measured at this exact location rather than averaged across the council, so they reflect how well served this particular spot is. Contains OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 1 pharmacy. 1 hospital is within about eight kilometres. That gives a healthcare score of 12 out of 100. Facilities are counted from OpenStreetMap and the score describes how close services are, not waiting times, capacity or clinical quality.

The nearest railway station is Brockenhurst Rail Station, about 5.2 km away, and there are 0 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 28 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.

New Forest is in the New Forest local authority, South East, England. It falls within the Lyndhurst & Minstead ward and the New Forest East 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 New Forest shares them. Weather, crime, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point instead.

New Forest scores 62 out of 100 on our remote workers profile, which is weighted towards broadband, cost of living, environment and weather. That is 5 points above its general score of 57, because this profile weights the twelve categories differently. Every area we score is ranked on this basis at /best-places-for-remote-workers/.

New Forest scores 57 out of 100 on our young professionals profile, which is weighted towards employment, lifestyle, transport and broadband. That is close to its general score of 57, so the weighting neither flatters nor penalises this area.

New Forest sits in the bottom 13% 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 environment. It is furthest below on transport, healthcare and lifestyle. 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.

Of the areas we have scored within about 50 miles of New Forest, the highest are Eastleigh (66 out of 100, about 13 miles away), Southampton (65 out of 100, about 9 miles away) and Ferndown (64 out of 100, about 13 miles away). New Forest itself scores 57. Distances are straight-line from this point, and each of those names links to its own full report.

Across the twelve category scores, the closest matches elsewhere in Britain are Bridport (Dorset, South West, England), Shepton Mallet (Somerset, South West, England) and Chard (Somerset, South West, England). 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.

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 New Forest 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.