County ranking
Best places to live in Hampshire
30 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.
65 towns in Hampshire clear our data thresholds: a population over 3,000 and real scores in 8 or more of 9 categories. The top 30 are ranked below. The top two are all but level: Chandler's Ford on 67/100, Southampton on 66. Five of them score 65 or better, something about one in eight comparable UK towns manages: Chandler's Ford (67), Southampton (66) and West End (Eastleigh) (66), among others.
On price, Southampton is the top five's cheapest at a median of £262,250. Blackwater (Hart), also in the top five, runs to £412,500. The listed towns cover ten points in all, from Chandler's Ford on 67 to Marchwood on 57. Full breakdowns for the leaders: Chandler's Ford, Southampton and West End (Eastleigh).
| # | Town | Score | Strongest categories | Population | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chandler's Ford | 67 | Transport 61 Healthcare 56 | 31,987 | £402,500 |
| 2 | Southampton | 66 | Healthcare 82 Transport 81 | 240,590 | £262,250 |
| 3 | West End (Eastleigh) | 66 | Lifestyle 80 Transport 66 | 11,118 | £315,000 |
| 4 | Blackwater (Hart) | 65 | Broadband 98 Schools 56 | 7,101 | £412,500 |
| 5 | Farnborough | 65 | Healthcare 69 Transport 68 | 61,372 | £367,500 |
| 6 | Aldershot | 64 | Lifestyle 75 Transport 64 | 33,371 | £346,500 |
| 7 | Fleet | 64 | Lifestyle 61 Transport 54 | 30,955 | £455,000 |
| 8 | Lee-on-the-Solent | 64 | Broadband 94 Transport 53 | 24,566 | £370,000 |
| 9 | Locks Heath | 64 | Transport 56 Broadband 94 | 36,605 | £375,000 |
| 10 | Portsmouth | 64 | Healthcare 77 Schools 81 | 223,130 | £265,000 |
| 11 | Andover | 63 | Lifestyle 91 Transport 69 | 36,247 | £296,500 |
| 12 | Horndean | 63 | Healthcare 52 Transport 51 | 33,223 | £365,000 |
| 13 | Romsey | 63 | Lifestyle 57 Transport 54 | 16,045 | £357,000 |
| 14 | Waterlooville | 63 | Schools 67 Transport 61 | 33,684 | £325,000 |
| 15 | Basingstoke | 62 | Transport 71 Schools 70 | 103,609 | £333,000 |
| 16 | Eastleigh | 62 | Lifestyle 63 Transport 60 | 42,374 | £320,000 |
| 17 | Fareham | 61 | Transport 65 Schools 61 | 41,655 | £312,000 |
| 18 | Gosport | 61 | Healthcare 61 Transport 64 | 62,536 | £241,000 |
| 19 | Havant | 61 | Transport 72 Schools 68 | 44,239 | £275,000 |
| 20 | Hythe and Dibden Purlieu | 61 | Transport 62 Healthcare 54 | 20,025 | £342,000 |
| 21 | Hedge End | 60 | Transport 62 Schools 60 | 19,595 | £342,500 |
| 22 | Lymington | 60 | Lifestyle 55 Healthcare 51 | 15,314 | £410,000 |
| 23 | Totton | 60 | Schools 65 Transport 59 | 28,722 | £315,000 |
| 24 | Alton (East Hampshire) | 59 | Healthcare 51 Schools 52 | 14,917 | £358,500 |
| 25 | Winchester | 59 | Transport 65 Lifestyle 65 | 49,433 | £507,500 |
| 26 | Emsworth | 58 | Transport 57 Healthcare 47 | 12,622 | £395,000 |
| 27 | North Baddesley | 58 | Healthcare 39 Transport 42 | 6,445 | £365,000 |
| 28 | Petersfield | 58 | Healthcare 51 Transport 53 | 13,654 | £440,000 |
| 29 | Rownhams and Nursling | 58 | Schools 60 Healthcare 52 | 5,637 | £417,500 |
| 30 | Marchwood | 57 | Transport 50 Lifestyle 43 | 5,449 | £322,000 |
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 Hampshire
The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 65 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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WhiteleyAshley (New Forest)Hook (Hart)Colden CommonNew MiltonOverton (Basingstoke and Deane)RingwoodTadleyBishop's WalthamBordonOakley (Basingstoke and Deane)Whitchurch (Basingstoke and Deane)Kings WorthyNew AlresfordSouth HaylingBramleyBransgoreFordingbridgeMilford on SeaOdihamFour MarksLiphookHolburyHeadley Down and HeadleyLissBlackfield and LangleyHartley WintneyHow this ranking was built
Every settlement in Hampshire 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:
- Population above 3,000. Without a floor the list fills with hamlets of a few dozen people. Hampshire has 65 towns above it.
- Real data in at least 8 of 9 categories. Places we can only partly measure are excluded rather than ranked on guesswork.
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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