New Analysis reveals England’s Happiest area

Windsor and Maidenhead takes the crown as the Happiest area in England, according to new research

• Windsor and Maidenhead is the happiest area in England
• Many factors, including well-being levels, income, and crime rates, were analysed to create a happiness ranking
• Boston, Lincolnshire, is the unhappiest area in England

New research reveals that Windsor and Maidenhead, is the happiest place in England.

The research, by care experts Guardian Carers, analysed more than 300 local authority areas in England based on key factors that contribute to an all-round happiness such as access to green space, well-being levels and income. The factors were added up to provide a well-rounded score of the happiness of the residents.

Windsor and Maidenhead ranked the happiest area in England with the best-combined score of the eight factors. The largest contributing factors to this are low number of suicide rates at ten in one year and the thirteenth lowest unemployment rate at 3.6%. This area also has the highest average combined size of parks, public gardens or playing fields within a 1000 m radius of 3,023,029  (m2).

Coming in second is Wiltshire (Salisbury), Southwest of England which has the fifth lowest unemployment rate compared with all 304 areas studied as well as the area eighth greatest access to private outdoor space.

Rutland, situated in the East Midlands, places third overall in the rankings. Out of the 304 areas analysed, Rutland ranks tenth for the least levels of crime with 42 recorded in one year.

The fourth happiest area in the UK is the Hertfordshire town, Broxbourne. This area has the second highest average combined size of parks, public gardens or playing fields within a 1,000 m radius of 2,878,872.20 (m2).

Fifth is Runnymede in the county of Surrey. Runnymede is part of the London commuter belt. For wellbeing scores, Runnymede scores as having the twelfth highest overall at 97.05 out of 100. On top of this, they also rank eighth for least hours worked and fourth overall for average combined size of parks, public gardens or playing fields.

Tandridge, Surrey comes in sixth overall in the happiness ranking after scoring highly in areas such as having the highest income growth. This area also holds the tenth lowest unemployment rate, according to ONS data.

Kingston Upon Thames, Southwest London, ranks as the seventh-happiest area in England.  This area scores highly in the green space factor, coming fifth overall in England for the average combined size of parks, public gardens or playing fields within a 1,000 m radius of 2,202,514.86 (m2).

Rochford, Essex comes in as the eighth happiest city in England. 91% of addresses in this area have access to private outdoor space. According to the ONS, one in eight households in the UK do not have access to a garden.

Wokingham, Berkshire, also ranks ninth overall for the least reported crimes in the area of 41 in total in 2021.

Cornwall places tenth in the rankings for the happiest area in England, which has a mere 3.5% unemployment rate.

Boston is ranked as the unhappiest area in the UK, having the fourth lowest median income in England at £24,655; this is below the national average. The area also has the twelfth highest number of working hours.

A spokesperson for Guardian Carers commented on the findings:

“Happiness provides not only that joyous feeling but also has major health benefits such as increasing your life expectancy and allows you to form deeper connections and continue strong relationships.

Moving out of the coronavirus pandemic and looking toward the future, people are prioritising their happiness more than they were before. There are so many factors that contribute to our happiness, and it is great to see the areas highlighted by this analysis that provides well-balanced happiness for their residents.”

The Top 10 Happiest places in England 

Rank	Place	Score out of 10
1	Windsor and Maidenhead	70.63
2	Wiltshire (Salisbury)	68.97
3	Rutland	68.11
4	Broxbourne	67.84
5	Runnymede	67.11
6	Tandridge	66.61
7	Kingston upon Thames	66.13
8	Rochford	65.99
9	Wokingham	65.81
10	Cornwall	65.53

The Unhappiest places in England 

Rank	Place	Score out of 100
295	Lincoln	48.75
296	Blackpool	48.68
297	Eastbourne	48.43
298	Barrow-in-Furness	48.20
299	Hartlepool	47.86
300	Middlesbrough	47.57
301	Redcar and Cleveland	45.35
302	Oadby and Wigston	43.08
303	Melton	42.33
304	Boston	40.53

The study was conducted by Guardian Carers, which is an introductory service placing carers, companions and housekeepers all over the UK and beyond; who provide a wide range of premium care services on a live-in, live-out, full-time or part-time basis.

Credit to guardiancarers.co.uk who commissioned the research