Do you live in the happiest place in Britain... or one of the worst? See where your home town fares in 221-strong rankings

A London suburb has been crowned the happiest place to live in Britain, reclaiming the top spot after previously triumphing in 2023. The borough's residents were most likely to say they were happy with where they lived in Rightmove's Happy at Home Index. This put it at the top of the property website's 221-strong list which we reveal in full below, from the best to the worst. Among the ten least happy towns were six boroughs of Greater London along with towns in the West Midlands, East and South East. More than 24,000 people across Britain took part in the survey, rating their area on everything from access to nature and green spaces to local services, amenities and employment opportunities. Winner: Richmond upon Thames has been crowned the happiest place to live in BritainResidents in Richmond upon Thames, an affluent area in the south-west of the capital, ranked the area number one thanks to its parks, shops and restaurants, job opportunities, local services and the fact people took pride in the area. Councillor Nancy Baldwin, Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, said: 'This recognition is especially meaningful because residents highlighted their pride in the local area, beautiful parks and green spaces, and the local services they rely on every day.' Speaking to This is Money, Nikki Slater, a director at estate agents N&N Richmond, said: 'It's beautiful, sociable and somewhat improbable. Richmond combines extraordinary natural beauty - a beguiling sweep of The Thames & the splendour of Richmond Park - with all the advantages of having London on its doorstep. 'There are moments when it feels like living in the country except you can still get a decent flat white at five o'clock on a Sunday.' Prospective buyers looking to purchase a home in Richmond upon Thames typically need deep pockets.Rightmove said the average asking price last month was £1.02million, while the average monthly rent was £3,298. Richmond upon Thames has more than 500 hectares of green areas, including Kew Gardens and Bushy Park. It is also home to Hampton Court Palace and is where the hit Netflix show Ted Lasso was filmed. Other happy places in Britain Tempting: Harrogate was dubbed the second happiest place to live in BritainHarrogate in Yorkshire and the Humber was second place in the happiest places to live in Britain, Rightmove said. It ranked highly for access to nature and green spaces, as well as residents’ agreement with the survey statement: 'I can be myself.' The North Yorkshire spa town is noted for its bustling tea rooms and well-preserved Victorian heritage. It is renowned for its 'healing' mineral waters and has one of Britain's last fully working Victorian Turkish baths. It previously topped the list of the happiest places to live in Britain for three consecutive years.Average property prices in Harrogate are much cheaper than in Richmond upon Thames. Average property asking prices reached £395,776 last month. Tenants renting a property in the town pay around £1,750 a month, which is £1,548 less than someone in Richmond upon Thames typically pays. Cirencester was found to be the third happiest location in Britain to live, with residents scoring the town in Gloucestershire highly. The town, which is the largest in the Cotswolds, is known for its impressive architecture and independent shops. It is also possible to visit the Roman Cirencester Amphitheatre on the outskirts of the town.Average asking prices were £407,368 last month, while the average cost of renting was £1,633 per month. Monmouth in Wales was the fourth happiest place to live in Britain this year. Monmouth is known for its picturesque streets filled with quaint cafes, restaurants and shops. It is also home to Monmouth Castle, the birthplace of King Henry V. It is an excellent location for lovers of the outdoors due to its proximity to the Wye Valley. Buyers can expect average asking prices of around £366,782, while the average cost of renting was £1,395 a month in October. Hove on the south-east coast was the fifth happiest location to live in Britain, Rightmove said. Hove, near Brighton, has handsome squares, crescents and leafy communal gardens along the seafront. Average asking property prices in Hove were £476,115 last month, so it's not a cheap place to live. Tenants can expect to shell out £2,086 a month.Chorley, Skipton, Llandrindod Wells, Horsham and Hexham also made it into the list of the top ten happiest locations to live in Britain. Having come out on top as the happiest place to live in Britain last year, Skipton in North Yorkshire only scraped seventh place this year. The gloomiest places to live in BritainAt the other end of the spectrum, residents in Barking and Dagenham in Greater London were found to be the most disgruntled in Britain about where they lived. Residents in Barking and Dagenham were found to be the least satisfied about where they live, making the Greater London location the worst in Britain, according to the data. It was also the gloomiest place to live in the 2025 rankings. The overall crime rate in Barking and Dagenham in 2026 was 81 crimes per 1,000 people, which was slightly below the London average.But in March 2025 Barking and Dagenham had the worst crime rate in London for robbery, with 116 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.48 per 1,000 daytime population. Earlier this year, it was identified as England's most unfriendly town in an Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion study using data from the Government's Community Life Survey. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average asking price for a home in Barking and Dagenham in August 2026 was £370,000. Walsall in the West Midlands was labelled by residents as the second gloomiest place to live in across Britain, Rightmove said. Earlier this year, it was named Britain's worst town for quality of life as one local said it was like living in a 'real-life episode of Shameless'. Lewisham in Greater London was the third worst location, as prescribed by residents living in the area. This was followed by Slough, Havering, Clacton-on-Sea, Harrow, Rochester, Croydon, Brent and Rotherham. Across all the locations where residents were surveyed, those in Greater London were most likely to say they were discontent about where they lived. The data was generated after Rightmove asked more than 24,000 people in 221 locations about how happy they were with where they lived. Spanning all the data, 81 per cent of people across Britain rated themselves as happy with where they lived, compared with 9 per cent who said they were unhappy.Overall, residents in the South West of England were found to be the most content about where they lived. How to find a new mortgage Mortgage rates have jumped as conflict with Iran has driven up inflation expectations and dashed hopes of interest rate cuts.If you need a mortgage because you are buying a home, or your current fixed rate deal is due to end, you should explore your options as soon as possible. This is Money has a long-standing partnership with fee-free broker L&C, to provide you with expert mortgage advice.Use This is Money and L&Cs best mortgage rates calculator to show deals matching your home value, mortgage size, term and fixed rate needs.Or use L&C’s online Mortgage Finder to search thousands of deals from more than 90 different lenders to discover the best deal for you.Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage