If you’re looking to proceed to a town with great schools, a minimal crime rate and lots of jobs, then Bath is the place to become.
That’s based on new Moneysupermarket research, where the picturesque Somerset city arrived on the scene top of the 35 locations analysed.
Here, we take a look at the report’s best and worst cities to reside in, before offering top tips on choosing the best home.
Bath named since many family-friendly city
Moneysupermarket analysed 35 cities according to standard of living indicators, such as schools, crime, green space, housing and wages – and Bath beat last year’s winner Newcastle to the peak spot.
Bath was commended for that quality of its schools and quantity of job opportunities – the highest in the UK, with 13.76 jobs per 100 people.
Wolverhampton carried out in third place due to improvements in the schools, while Manchester leaped 12 places to complete fourth, primarily due to its reduced crime rates.
Five most family-friendly cities
| Town | ‘Outstanding’ schools | Parks | Average salary | Average house price | Job opportunities* | Burglary hotspots** |
| Bath | 31 | 10 | lb29,806 | lb342,000 | 13,839 | 9 |
| Newcastle | 108 | 22 | lb32,572 | lb161,000 | 8,230 | 8 |
| Wolverhampton | 74 | 7 | lb30,408 | lb141,000 | 22,223 | 18 |
| Manchester | 196 | 25 | lb33,684 | lb173,000 | 31,410 | 21 |
| Swansea | 23 | 107 | lb33,188 | lb141,000 | 2,778 | 5 |
High house prices see London finish last
With eye-watering house prices, high crime rates and fierce competition for college places, London ranked in last place of the 35 cities analysed by Moneysupermarket.
And despite being named as the UK Town of Culture in 2022, Hull came second to last, using its lack of job opportunities bringing it down.
Perhaps surprisingly, Bristol didn’t fare too well either – having a decline in occupations and expensive housing cited as causes of its poor placing.
Five least family-friendly cities
| Town | ‘Outstanding’ schools | Nearby parks | Average salary | Average house price | Job opportunities* | Burglary hotspots** |
| London | 555 | 1,649 | lb40,978 | lb484,000 | 126,098 | 19 |
| Hull | 26 | 5 | lb29,232 | lb110,000 | 3,169 | 17 |
| Bristol | 54 | 26 | lb32,880 | lb275,000 | 15,239 | 15 |
| Leicester | 51 | 13 | lb30,576 | lb162,000 | 18,750 | 21 |
| Brighton | 23 | 14 | lb32,258 | lb361,000 | 11,433 | 14 |
How to get the best place to live
When you’re choosing a place to maneuver to, it pays to complete your quest.
After all, up-and-coming areas don’t stay under the radar for very long, and if you’re too late towards the ‘newest thing’ you might end up buying a house in the very peak from the market.
Here are a few tips on getting ahead of the game when finding somewhere a new comer to live:
To find out more about researching a place before deciding whether or not to buy there, take a look at our full guide on finding the right places to reside.
Want to check areas?
We’ve created a tool that permits you to research and compare different areas before selecting where you can buy.
As along with data on housing, primary and secondary schools and council tax, our tool includes life span, happiness scores and information about the different household types in each local authority.
