Best places for · Retirees
Best UK cities for retirees
Cities where GP access is close, crime is low, greenspace is walkable, the air is clean, and rent stays manageable on a fixed income.
Section 1 / 3
Top 25 cities for retirees
Score is 0–100, computed by min-max normalising each weighted metric across UK cities. Larger cities (50k+ residents) only — keeps the ranking representative.
- 1.Barrow-in-FurnessNorth West89.7 / 100
- GP 764 m
- Crime 68.1/1k
- PM2.5 4.8 µg/m³
- 2.WarringtonNorth West88.7 / 100
- GP 747 m
- Crime 51.3/1k
- PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³
- 3.Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands88.0 / 100
- GP 587 m
- Crime 109.7/1k
- PM2.5 7.0 µg/m³
- 4.BoltonNorth West87.9 / 100
- GP 644 m
- Crime 0.6/1k
- PM2.5 6.7 µg/m³
- 5.WiganNorth West87.7 / 100
- GP 699 m
- Crime 0.7/1k
- PM2.5 6.6 µg/m³
- 6.Newcastle-under-LymeWest Midlands87.6 / 100
- GP 706 m
- Crime 61.3/1k
- PM2.5 6.6 µg/m³
- 7.GatesheadNorth East87.6 / 100
- GP 743 m
- Crime 80.5/1k
- PM2.5 6.0 µg/m³
- 8.StockportNorth West87.1 / 100
- GP 679 m
- Crime 0.7/1k
- PM2.5 7.1 µg/m³
- 9.Telford and WrekinWest Midlands87.0 / 100
- GP 999 m
- Crime 76.6/1k
- PM2.5 6.1 µg/m³
- 10.TorbaySouth West86.9 / 100
- GP 749 m
- Crime 72.5/1k
- PM2.5 5.2 µg/m³
- 11.St. HelensNorth West86.7 / 100
- GP 724 m
- Crime 70.1/1k
- PM2.5 6.6 µg/m³
- 12.BuryNorth West86.4 / 100
- GP 707 m
- Crime 0.7/1k
- PM2.5 7.0 µg/m³
- 13.TraffordNorth West86.4 / 100
- GP 557 m
- Crime 0.7/1k
- PM2.5 7.0 µg/m³
- 14.KnowsleyNorth West86.4 / 100
- GP 601 m
- Crime 81.5/1k
- PM2.5 6.8 µg/m³
- 15.OldhamNorth West86.2 / 100
- GP 679 m
- Crime 0.6/1k
- PM2.5 7.3 µg/m³
- 16.RochdaleNorth West86.2 / 100
- GP 589 m
- Crime 0.6/1k
- PM2.5 7.0 µg/m³
- 17.SalfordNorth West86.2 / 100
- GP 532 m
- Crime 0.7/1k
- PM2.5 7.4 µg/m³
- 18.TamesideNorth West86.1 / 100
- GP 696 m
- Crime 0.7/1k
- PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³
- 19.North TynesideNorth East86.1 / 100
- GP 694 m
- Crime 75.7/1k
- PM2.5 6.2 µg/m³
- 20.CarlisleNorth West86.0 / 100
- GP 1222 m
- Crime 71.4/1k
- PM2.5 4.5 µg/m³
- 21.ExeterSouth West86.0 / 100
- GP 492 m
- Crime 74.5/1k
- PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³
- 22.BurnleyNorth West86.0 / 100
- GP 677 m
- Crime 100.7/1k
- PM2.5 6.2 µg/m³
- 23.LancasterNorth West85.8 / 100
- GP 1251 m
- Crime 74.4/1k
- PM2.5 5.0 µg/m³
- 24.LiverpoolNorth West85.8 / 100
- GP 435 m
- Crime 93.9/1k
- PM2.5 6.7 µg/m³
- 25.SeftonNorth West85.8 / 100
- GP 641 m
- Crime 68.4/1k
- PM2.5 5.6 µg/m³
Section 2 / 3
How the ranking works
Each metric is min-max normalised across the peer set, then combined with the weights below. Lower-is-better metrics (rent, crime, distance to GP) are inverted before combining.
- 1.GP distance (convex penalty)
- 2.Safety (steep penalty)
- 3.Greenspace
- 4.Air quality
- 5.Rent affordability
- 6.Broadband
Source data: ONS PIPR (rent), ONS ASHE (salary), data.police.uk (crime), Ofsted (schools), DfT/NaPTAN (rail), NHS ODS (GP), DEFRA (PM2.5), Ofcom (broadband), ONS access-to-greenspace 2020.
Section 3 / 3
Different life stage?
The ranking changes when the priorities change.