Rightmove has listed the UK’s ‘happiest places’ according to a survey
Hull has been ranked in a new league table of the happiest places to live in the UK. The list, compiled by online property marketplace Rightmove, was made by asking “thousands of people across Great Britain how they feel about where they live”.
Nationally, Hull ranked 169th happiest place in the UK out of a total of 220 places. This means there are only 51 places ‘sadder’ than Hull, according to this survey, though they include a number of cities such as Birmingham, the City of London and Peterborough.
Still, Hull fared better than several of its near neighbours in the Yorkshire and Humber region, such as Grimsby (189th), Doncaster (192nd), Rotherham (203rd) and Bradford (212th). And who can forget Hull’s noteworthy inclusion in National Geographic’s Best of the World 2026 list?
The ‘happiest’ place in the whole of the UK is in Yorkshire, namely Skipton, with the Yorkshire town of Harrogate also ranking high, in fourth place. The ‘least happy’ place was the London borough of Barking and Dagenham (220th place).
Rightmove said: “Feeling happy at home isn’t just about the property. It’s also about the wider area, the community, and how close you are to the things which matter most.
“We can reveal that Skipton in North Yorkshire has been crowned the happiest place to live in 2025 by those that live there. Richmond-upon-Thames in London is second, and Camden in London is third.”
It is hard to precisely measure ‘happiness’, but data often focuses on metrics such as poverty, crime, health, and employment. This list is self-reported, so it depends on the opinions of those who took part in the survey.
Have a look at the tables below to see how towns and cities in the UK compare to one another. Also, you can try out our interactive maps of the ‘happiest’ and ‘least happy’ places.
Yorkshire and Humber national happiness rank
- 1. Skipton
- 4. Harrogate
- 27. Whitby
- 57. York
- 70. Halifax
- 74. Leeds
- 91. Sheffield
- 98. Barnsley
- 129. Huddersfield
- 169. Hull
- 182. Wakefield
- 189. Grimsby
- 192. Doncaster
- 203. Rotherham
- 212. Bradford
Top 20 happiest places to live in the UK
- 1. Skipton
- 2. Richmond upon Thames
- 3. Camden
- 4. Harrogate
- 5. Woodbridge
- 6. Altrincham
- 7. Macclesfield
- 8. Stirling
- 9. Cirencester
- 10. Hexham
- 11. Falmouth
- 12. Leamington Spa
- 13. Lichfield
- 14. Maidenhead
- 15. Horsham
- 16. Leigh on Sea
- 17. Tonbridge
- 18. Winchester
- 19. Anglesey
- 20. Monmouth
Least happy places
- 220. Barking and Dagenham
- 219. Newham
- 218. Havering
- 217. Rochester
- 216. Walsall
- 215. Luton
- 214. Enfield
- 213. Peterborough
- 212. Bradford
- 211. Brent
- 210. Slough
- 209. Birmingham
- 208. Bexley
- 207. Motherwell
- 206. Rochdale
- 205. City of London
- 204. Basildon
- 203. Rotherham
- 202. Southend on Sea
- 201. Dudley