Best Places to Live in the North West of England: 2025-2026 Satisfaction Statistics

Life in the North West is shaped by the everyday things that make a place feel like home: feeling safe when you step outside, knowing your neighbours and having a range of things to do nearby.

In August 2025, Anwyl Homes commissioned independent market research company Censuswide to survey 500 adults living across the North West, from big cities to smaller towns. The results give a clear, honest picture of satisfaction across the region as it moves into 2026. 

Residents were asked:
●    How satisfied they are with their town or city overall
●    How they rate key parts of everyday life, including safety, cost of living, community, work opportunities, and lifestyle

We also looked at how satisfaction changes by age, gender, and household size, because where you are in life often shapes how you experience where you live.

North West hometown satisfaction statistics at a glance

• Preston comes second, scoring particularly well for safety (49%) and cost of living (36%)
• Bolton takes third place, with scores driven by strong scenery and nature satisfaction (83%)
• Oldham stands out for community spirit, with 74% of residents happy with neighbourliness – the highest in the region
• People living alone are happier, with single-person households reporting higher satisfaction (73%) than two-person homes (67%)

Which is the best city to live in across the North West?

Overall satisfaction across the North West sits at around 66%, but the experience of day-to-day life varies quite a bit depending on the location.

• Manchester leads the way, with 77% of residents living there feeling satisfied. People rate the city highly for leisure (58%) and healthcare access (60%), but affordability remains a clear pressure point, with cost-of-living satisfaction at just 30%.
• Preston follows closely at 69%, standing out for safety (49%) and relatively manageable living costs (according to the 36% satisfaction rate).
• Among the best places to live in the North West, Bolton (67%) and Liverpool (66%) come next. Each has its own strengths: Scenery and nature are a standout for Bolton (83%), while 61% of Liverpool residents are happy with dining and leisure options. That said, both face challenges around employment and affordability.
• At the other end of the scale, in Oldham, 53% of residents report being satisfied overall, but the picture becomes more nuanced when you dig deeper. Residents rate public transport (84%), scenery (89%) and community spirit (74%) highly, showing that overall rankings don’t necessarily reflect quality of life on the ground.

Which North West city delivers the highest everyday quality of life in 2025-2026?

To make sense of the results, we grouped the data using a simple version of Maslow’s pyramid of needs – starting with the basics that help people feel secure, then moving up to the things that create connection, opportunity, and everyday enjoyment.

It’s an easy way to see where life in the North West feels strong for residents, and where some communities are feeling more strain – whether you’re asking if Liverpool is safe or if Manchester is a good place to live.

1. Safety, cost of living and healthcare in the North West

These are the essentials, and where many residents feel the most pressure.

• Preston residents feel the safest in their city, with 49% being satisfied with safety and crime levels. In comparison, safety in Bolton is at the opposite end of the spectrum, with only 25% of residents being satisfied with safety and crime levels
• Housing (35%) and cost of living (27%) are the biggest challenges across the region, pulling overall satisfaction down
• Healthcare is one of the few basic needs achieving majority satisfaction, at 54% across the region
• Oldham presents similar results, performing strongly across cleanliness (53%) and healthcare (53%), while affordability and safety lag behind.

What this means in 2026: In research conducted in January 2026 by the Office for National Statistics, it was highlighted that basic needs such as the cost of living, access to quality healthcare, and safety are the most reported issues across the UK. Affordability concerns are driving a growing focus on long-term financial security, with these factors playing an important role in where people choose to live.

Since housing is considered an essential life requirement, the Government and trusted house builders are addressing this challenge through a range of buying schemes that make securing a new home more achievable, potentially helping to reduce upfront costs, deposits, or monthly payments as we move into 2026.

2. Community spirit and neighbourliness across the North West

Feeling like part of a community might not be a top priority, but it can shape your mood and help you feel more settled.

• Oldham leads the North West for community feel, with a 74% satisfaction rate.
• Manchester ranks highest for cultural diversity (56%), followed by Liverpool and Oldham (both 47%)
• Bolton records the lowest overall community satisfaction (42%), suggesting weaker social connection

Across the region, community spirit scores higher than any other single factor, reaching 58%. This suggests that social connection plays a vital role in people’s overall sense of belonging. The feeling around diversity is mixed but leans positively at 49%.

What this means in 2026: According to the latest Community Life Survey, 62% of adults in England say they feel they belong “very” or “fairly” strongly to their neighbourhood. This is the highest level recorded in more than a decade of tracking and is expected to continue into 2026.

3. Job opportunities and education in North West cities and towns

Opportunities to learn and work can play a big role in long-term satisfaction.

• Bolton ranks highest for access to good education, with 75% satisfied
• Preston leads on job opportunities, but satisfaction is still modest at 47%
• Warrington and Blackpool both average just 40% on combined education and employment satisfaction
• Employment is the weakest growth measure overall, with just 37% satisfied across the region

The takeaway? Education is a clear strength across the North West, scoring a strong 60%.

However, job satisfaction stays quite low at 37%, suggesting many residents feel held back by a lack of local employment opportunities.

What this means in 2026: Employment satisfaction is the weakest growth measure in our research, and recent national data helps explain why. According to the Office for National Statistics’ latest labour market release, the number of payrolled employees in the UK fell by 149,000 (0.5%) between October 2024 and October 2025, while unemployment rose to 5.1% in the period from August to October 2025.

After inflation, earnings growth has remained modest, with regular pay increasing by just 0.5% between August and October 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier. This national picture helps explain why residents report low satisfaction with job opportunities in our research, even where access to education is rated more positively. This suggests employment pressures are likely to remain an important factor throughout 2026.

While these trends reflect national conditions rather than local performance alone, the continued growth of hybrid and remote working means access to opportunity is becoming less tied to location.

4. Lifestyle and entertainment across the North West

When it comes to enjoying day-to-day life, the North West performs strongly.

• Oldham tops the table for both scenery (89%) and public transport (84%)
• Manchester leads for dining options (69%) and things to do (58%)
• Blackpool performs the worst when it comes to leisure, with a 45% satisfaction rate
• Scenery and nature are the region’s top lifestyle asset, with 71% of residents in the North West reporting satisfaction here

What this means in 2026: With lifestyle scoring so highly across the North West in our research, particularly for scenery, nature and public transport, national data reinforcing the importance of these factors is a positive sign as the region moves into 2026. The People and Nature Survey for England shows that more than 80% of adults report improved wellbeing when they spend time outdoors at least once a week, highlighting the role that access to green space plays in everyday quality of life. This wider context suggests lifestyle strengths will remain an important contributor to satisfaction going forward.

Who feels most at home in the North West by age, gender, and household

Putting location-based results to one side, we can also see how satisfaction with where you live varies depending on household type, gender, and age. So, who is the strongest contender for being the happiest in the North West?

• Overall, men report higher satisfaction than women (75% vs 68%)
• People aged 45–54 are the most satisfied overall (74%), followed by 35 to 44-year-olds (72%) and 25 to 34-year-olds (72%)
• Residents aged 55 and over are the least positive overall, with satisfaction dropping to just 64%
• Single-person households (73%) are happier than two-person households (67%), nearly matching the satisfaction levels of the largest households of six or more people (74%)

Therefore, based on the above results, it appears the most satisfied North West resident would typically be a man aged 45–54 who lives alone. If we link this back to the city-level results, he would most likely be living in Manchester.

Do hometown satisfaction levels really differ across UK regions?

The latest TGI GB study (August 2024 – July 2025) surveyed over 25,000 adults aged 15+ across the UK, exploring how people feel about their standard of living and their lives overall. Nationally, 55% of adults say they are perfectly happy with their standard of living, while 52% say they are very happy with life as it is. Regional index scores show only slight variation, ranging from a low of 95 in the East of England to a high of 106 in Wales (where 100 represents the UK average). The results reveal very little difference in life satisfaction between UK regions, with overall happiness levels in the North West sitting firmly in the middle of the country’s average.

That makes the local contrasts even more important. While the region as a whole mirrors the national picture, the experience of everyday life can feel very different from one city – or even one household – to the next.

While this research focuses mainly on cities and larger towns, many people across the North West choose to settle in surrounding areas such as Cheshire and West Lancashire, where greater access to green space and coastlines can play a big role in everyday satisfaction.

Final thoughts

Manchester and Preston stand out as some of the best places to live in the North of England, while places like Warrington and Oldham show how uneven progress can be. The picture is complex – but encouraging – with strong communities and lifestyle strengths helping offset ongoing pressures.

If you’re thinking about making a move to any of the locations mentioned in the research, why not take a look at our range of stunning new build homes for sale in the North West?

Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Anwyl Homes. Fieldwork took place in August 2025 and surveyed a demographically representative sample of 500 adults living across the North West of England.