Deciding where to live and raise a family is one of life’s most important decisions, influencing almost every aspect of your life, from where you work, where your children attend school, how safe you feel, your health – and your social time. The touchpoints are almost endless. To help you get started with this ever-important decision, or to help reinforce you’ve made the right choice, we’ve dug into the data to rank the best areas across London and the rest of the UK for families to live and work in 2025. Our research considers everything from the average monthly rent, yearly sunshine hours, air quality, access to green spaces, the cost of living and more. Where do you think each area ranked on our list?
London
The Capital – The Big Smoke – The Square Mile. Whatever you call it, London is home to some of the most glorious places to settle down and raise a family in the UK. Albeit one of the pricier places to live in the world, the capital remains a favourite for some, having grown in population across 2024.
For our ranking, we thought it was only right to keep London separate from the rest of the UK, as certain factors, including the cost of living, are vastly different. If London isn’t an area you are interested in, skip on to see the best places across the UK.
The full list: the most family-friendly boroughs
- Barnet
- City of Westminster
- Croydon
- Bromley
- Southwark
- Merton
- Hillingdon
- Havering
- Hackney
- Enfield
- Ealing
- Greenwich
- Richmond upon Thames
- Sutton
- Barking and Dagenham
- Brent
- Waltham Forest
- Hounslow
- Bexley
- Redbridge
- Camden
- Haringey
- Islington
- Lewisham
- Lambeth
- Harrow
- Wandsworth
- Kingston upon Thames
- Newham
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Tower Hamlets
- Kensington and Chelsea
Barnet
Barnet scored second on our 2024 ranking, just below Bromley, but tops our 2025 list for the best borough to live in 2025. With some of the lowest crime rates across the whole of London, the highest number of indoor and soft play areas for little ones, the highest amount of both primary and secondary schools, and the highest number of libraries (on par with Hillingdon), it’s no wonder Barnet has ranked as number one.
Barnet is the second-largest borough in London by population and offers a mix of urban and country living. Steeped in history, you’ll find efficient transport links to central London and the countryside.
City of Westminster
While typically considered an affluent area where many celebrities live, the City of Westminster comes in second on our list. Surprisingly, the borough has the second cheapest yearly council tax rate across London and is home to 17 libraries – the largest in the city. With 3,668 jobs currently paying £40K a year or more, the borough has 160 parks and playgrounds, so there is plenty of space for the children to play despite its central location.
Croydon
Known as one of the cheaper areas in London, Croydon scored high on our ranking for its low childcare costs (£6.03 per hour), large number of indoor and soft play areas and lower average monthly rents. In terms of transport links, Croydon is highly connected and is home to many green spaces including Lloyd Park, Coombe Woods and Wandle Park. If you’re a foodie, Croydon is one of the boroughs for you.
Bromley
Fourth on our list is Bromley, which has moved down from position one since our 2024 ranking. Still high on the list for 2025, Bromley is one of London’s greenest boroughs and is very close to Kent, known as the ‘Garden of England’. With some of the lower crime rates in the capital, the average rent for a 2 – 3 bed home comes in at £2,034 per month, which isn’t bad for London.
Southwark
At number five on our list, Southwark currently has 3,633 open jobs paying £40K or more a year. Home to some of the country’s most important cultural spaces, including the Tate Modern, Bankside Gallery and South London Gallery, Southwark is known for being one of the city’s more desirable areas to live.
Merton
Host to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Merton is home to some of the best-performing schools in London, as well as a vibrant dining scene, lower crime rates and tranquil atmosphere. According to our research, childcare costs come in at £7 per hour, and a 2 – 3 bed home, on average, costs £2,762 in rent per month.
Hillingdon
The most western London borough, Hillingdon, is home to Heathrow Airport, allowing residents easy access to destinations across the world. With a lower crime rate than other areas across London, Hillingdon boasts many green spaces, including Colne Valley Regional Park and Ruislip Woods. According to our data, a 2 – 3-bedroom home will cost £1,983 per month (on average), and childcare comes in at £6 per hour.
Havering
Ranking at number eight on our list is the borough of Havering. Home to multiple beautiful parks, Havering is known for being one of the greener boroughs, with easy transport links and the average monthly rent for a 2 – 3 bed coming in at less than £2K per month (£1,953 to be exact). Considering these factors, it’s no wonder Havering is ranked in our top 10.
Hackney
Known for its buzzing atmosphere and diverse population, Hackney scored highly on our ranking due to its large number of parks and playgrounds, and (at the time of writing) whopping 3,537 open jobs available paying £40K or more a year. With a rich cultural scene, eclectic restaurants and highly rated schools, Hackney is a wonderful area to settle down and raise a family.
Enfield
The northern borough of Enfield is number 10 on our list. With excellent connections to the city and proximity to the lush countryside of Middlesex, Enfield offers a blend of country and urban living. According to our research, a 2 – 3-bedroom home will cost £2,356 per month in rent, and childcare costs £7.02 per hour.
If you’d like more information about the boroughs outside of our top 10, skip onto our methodology where you can download the entire dataset.
The UK has some of the most remarkable areas in which to raise a family outside of London. We’ve investigated the data for every major city outside of London, with Birmingham topping our list.
The full list
- Birmingham
- Manchester
- Sheffield
- Liverpool
- Leeds
- Nottingham
- Bristol
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Cardiff
- Belfast
- Glasgow
Birmingham
Often referred to as the ‘youngest city in Europe’ due to 28% of its population being under 20 years old, Birmingham has the most Michelin-star restaurants outside of London. The birthplace of the Balti, Birmingham is a utopia for foodies, especially those who love street food and pop-ups. Outside of London, Birmingham City Council charges the cheapest yearly council tax across England (for Band D), which comes in at £1,905.73 a year for 2025. You can expect around 1,400 hours of sunshine a year while living in Birmingham, and the cost of living comes in at some of the lowest rates across the entire UK.
Manchester
Widley, known as the ‘Capital of the North‘, Manchester ranks second on our list due to its number of secondary and primary schools and many open jobs (1,064 paying £40K a year or more, at the time of writing). Famous for its music and cultural scene, Manchester is home to a diverse population of residents, outstanding Universities and family-friendly neighbourhoods. While the city isn’t known for being the driest, its proximity to the countryside offers many walks, which are beautiful in any weather condition.
Sheffield
The third largest city in Northern England and third on our list is Sheffield. With 462 child-friendly restaurants (according to Trip Advisor) and the lowest crime rates across the UK outside of Belfast, Sheffield also boasts some of the lowest living costs across the whole of the UK. The greenest city in the UK and the second greenest city in Europe (after Oslo), Sheffield is home to Henderson’s Relish. This famous vegan condiment often rivals Worcester Sauce.
Liverpool
Liverpool is praised as one of the friendliest places to live in the UK, making it ideal for families. With 1,507 average hours of yearly sunshine, the city is home to 130 parks and playgrounds, and acres of quality green space. The average monthly rent comes in at £891 per month – the second cheapest rate across the UK. You will find some 143 leisure facilities throughout the city – most of the areas we investigated.
Leeds
Coming in at sixth place on our list is Leeds. Leeds is a wonderful place to settle down and raise a family. It is a busy and thriving city with one of the UK’s most relaxing accents. Although the city has the lowest levels of yearly sunshine across the UK, the cost of living is relatively low, with the average monthly rent coming in at £1,097 per month. The average hourly cost for childcare is £4.75 per hour, and the city is close to both the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District, which are well worth exploring with the family.
Nottingham
Moving down the country, our rankings place Nottingham as the seventh-best city in the UK. Council tax is the highest nationwide, costing Band D residents £2 411.65 annually. However, crime rates are relatively low, the third lowest across the UK outside London. Although a smaller city compared to Manchester or London, across Nottingham, you’ll find plenty of amazing shops, places to eat and activities to do with the kids.
Bristol
A modern, metropolitan city, Bristol is known for being a unique, creative city which stands out across the UK. With the second-highest yearly sunshine hours across the UK, Bristol has 62 libraries and scenic cycle routes. It has been named one of the best cities in the world for beautiful bike rides. The city has a vibrant cultural and art scene and is the hometown of Banksy – while walking through the streets, you’ll likely spot his pieces dotted about.
Newcastle upon Tyne
With some of the lowest rates of cost of living across the UK, Newcastle upon Tyne comes in at number eight on our list. Known for its friendly locals and proximity to Northumberland and the Northumberland Coastline – an area of outstanding natural beauty, Newcastle upon Tyne is a wonderful city to settle down and raise a family. With childcare costing £4.5 per hour – the lowest across the entire UK- the city has 118 leisure facilities and 14 libraries. The Geordie accent is well-regarded across the UK, too.
Cardiff
The capital of Wales comes in at number nine on our list. The city enjoys 1,573 yearly hours of sunshine. It is known for its friendly locals, many of whom are bilingual, so you will likely hear both English and Welsh spoken when out and about. The average monthly rent comes in at £1,077 per month, and childcare costs £6 per hour. Although one of the smaller UK cities, its vicinity to beautiful greenery and countryside makes it a great area to settle down.
Belfast
Scoring at number 10 on our list is Belfast. With the lowest crime rate and cost of living across the entire UK, Belfast has much to offer working families. The average monthly rent comes in at £1,077, and childcare costs £6 per hour. With incredible restaurants, pubs and thousands of acres of beautiful parkland, there is plenty to do around the city.
Glasgow
The final city on our list is Glasgow. Although Glasgow hasn’t scored as highly as other cities, this charming, creative city steeped in history has much to offer. Home to the Burrell Collection, beautiful Botanic Gardens, a vibrant coffee scene and infamous pubs, Glasgow is a great place to settle down. The average monthly rent in Glasgow comes in at £1,119, and you’ll find 170 schools (combined primary and secondary) across the city. With 66 parks and playgrounds, the city has more than enough green space for little ones to explore.
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Methodology
Using third-party data, Making Moves ranked each area across London and assigned a relative score with ‘1’ being best and ’32’ being least best. The same was done for cities outside of London; however, different datasets were used. The full data can be downloaded here: The Best Areas for Working Families to Live in 2025.
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