County ranking

Best places to live in Bedfordshire

25 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.

25 Towns listed of 25 that qualify
65 Top score Luton
52 County median UK median 54
1 Above 65 roughly the UK top eighth

We score 25 Bedfordshire towns with a population above 3,000 and data in at least 8 of our 9 categories. Here are the top 25, ranked by overall score. Luton takes first place with 65/100, putting six points between it and Bedford on 59. One town clears 65/100, a mark roughly one in eight UK towns this size reaches: Luton (65).

On price, Luton is the top five's cheapest at a median of £315,000. Ampthill, also in the top five, runs to £420,000. The steepest fall in the ranking comes after first place, where Luton on 65 gives way to Bedford on 59. Across the 25 towns listed, scores run from 65 down to 41, a 24-point spread. See the detailed scores for Luton, Bedford and Dunstable.

The top 25 places to live in Bedfordshire, ranked by overall score out of 100
# Town Score Strongest categories Population Median price
1 Luton 65 Healthcare 78 Schools 80 223,865 £315,000
2 Bedford 59 Healthcare 73 Lifestyle 74 85,258 £328,250
3 Dunstable 58 Healthcare 67 Schools 63 28,131 £325,000
4 Flitwick 58 Schools 53 Lifestyle 46 13,218 £340,000
5 Ampthill 57 Healthcare 54 Lifestyle 47 8,759 £420,000
6 Bromham (Bedford) 57 Healthcare 45 Schools 46 4,372 £400,000
7 Leighton Buzzard 57 Lifestyle 61 Schools 62 34,266 £335,000
8 Caddington 56 Healthcare 54 Broadband 88 3,003 £435,000
9 Kempston 56 Schools 71 Healthcare 64 18,830 £315,000
10 Wootton (Bedford) 54 Broadband 90 Healthcare 37 3,313 £420,000
11 Biggleswade 53 Lifestyle 61 Transport 53 13,829 £340,000
12 Houghton Regis 53 Schools 66 Healthcare 54 20,090 £315,000
13 Clapham (Bedford) 52 Healthcare 51 Lifestyle 37 3,985 £295,000
14 Sandy 52 Lifestyle 66 Broadband 81 10,728 £320,500
15 Stotfold 52 Lifestyle 47 Schools 47 12,468 £415,000
16 Clifton (Central Bedfordshire) 51 Broadband 97 Schools 40 3,272 £377,000
17 Barton-le-Clay 50 Broadband 85 Healthcare 41 4,598 £386,250
18 Cranfield 48 Broadband 97 Schools 31 3,325 £380,000
19 Potton 48 Broadband 90 Healthcare 31 5,179 £375,000
20 Shefford 48 Broadband 94 Healthcare 30 7,414 £359,200
21 Lower Stondon 47 Healthcare 35 Lifestyle 32 4,335 £350,000
22 Arlesey 46 Broadband 89 Lifestyle 31 5,863 £331,000
23 Langford (Central Bedfordshire) 45 Broadband 89 Lifestyle 26 3,420 £365,000
24 Eaton Bray and Edlesborough 43 Economic health 78 Healthcare 25 3,531 £446,500
25 Toddington 41 Broadband 78 Healthcare 35 3,870 £420,000

Ranked on the default weighting, out of 100. Strongest categories are the two furthest above the national median for that category, not simply the two highest numbers. Almost every town scores well on safety, so raw highs would say little.

Find your own best place in Bedfordshire

The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 25 qualifying towns around what you actually care about — who's moving, a minimum on one category, a price ceiling for the type of home you'd buy.

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How this ranking was built

Every settlement in Bedfordshire was scored across 9 categories (safety, schools, healthcare, transport, environment, broadband, lifestyle, economic health and bills) from official sources including Police UK, Ofsted, the CQC, Ofcom, the Environment Agency and MHCLG. Two filters then decide who appears here:

Counties are ceremonial, and a town belongs to the county its postcodes physically sit in, so border towns land where residents would expect them to.

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