County ranking
Best places to live in Norfolk
30 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.
We score 38 Norfolk towns with a population above 3,000 and data in at least 8 of our 9 categories. Here are the top 30, ranked by overall score. Top of the list is Norwich at 63/100, three points ahead of second-placed Bradwell (Great Yarmouth) (60). Norfolk as a whole runs 5.5 points below the national norm: a median of 48.5/100 across its 38 qualifying towns, against 54/100 for comparable UK towns.
Gorleston-on-Sea is the cheapest way into the top five, with a median house price of £190,000 against £320,000 in Taverham and Drayton. From top to bottom of this table there are 19 points: 63 at the head, 44 at the foot. Category-by-category detail is on the pages for Norwich, Bradwell (Great Yarmouth) and Taverham and Drayton.
| # | Town | Score | Strongest categories | Population | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwich | 63 | Lifestyle 77 Healthcare 70 | 193,346 | £250,000 |
| 2 | Bradwell (Great Yarmouth) | 60 | Transport 62 Broadband 92 | 8,939 | £248,750 |
| 3 | Taverham and Drayton | 58 | Broadband 89 Transport 43 | 14,847 | £320,000 |
| 4 | Gorleston-on-Sea | 57 | Transport 64 Healthcare 53 | 24,462 | £190,000 |
| 5 | Diss | 54 | Lifestyle 54 Healthcare 49 | 9,501 | £270,000 |
| 6 | Downham Market | 53 | Healthcare 55 Lifestyle 44 | 6,549 | £255,000 |
| 7 | Wymondham (South Norfolk) | 53 | Healthcare 43 Transport 44 | 8,191 | £275,750 |
| 8 | Dereham | 52 | Lifestyle 50 Healthcare 41 | 20,832 | £235,750 |
| 9 | Poringland | 51 | Healthcare 48 Transport 28 | 4,188 | £299,000 |
| 10 | Sheringham | 51 | Lifestyle 44 Broadband 76 | 6,882 | £315,000 |
| 11 | Swaffham | 51 | Healthcare 60 Lifestyle 59 | 5,985 | £251,000 |
| 12 | Thetford | 51 | Healthcare 55 Lifestyle 58 | 25,500 | £220,000 |
| 13 | Brundall | 50 | Healthcare 35 Transport 34 | 3,363 | £335,000 |
| 14 | Heacham | 50 | Broadband 81 Schools 34 | 4,216 | £309,000 |
| 15 | King's Lynn | 50 | Lifestyle 59 Schools 57 | 45,332 | £210,000 |
| 16 | Long Stratton | 50 | Broadband 78 Healthcare 33 | 4,166 | £247,250 |
| 17 | North Walsham | 50 | Healthcare 51 Lifestyle 46 | 12,114 | £262,250 |
| 18 | Aylsham | 49 | Schools 38 Healthcare 32 | 6,598 | £320,000 |
| 19 | Great Yarmouth | 49 | Lifestyle 79 Transport 65 | 29,080 | £140,000 |
| 20 | Attleborough | 48 | Lifestyle 47 Broadband 79 | 7,426 | £255,000 |
| 21 | Caister-on-Sea | 48 | Broadband 84 Transport 42 | 8,678 | £250,000 |
| 22 | Spixworth | 48 | Broadband 77 Transport 31 | 3,121 | £295,000 |
| 23 | Fakenham | 47 | Healthcare 31 Lifestyle 32 | 8,148 | £255,000 |
| 24 | Harleston | 47 | Healthcare 51 Lifestyle 43 | 4,564 | £240,000 |
| 25 | Horsford | 47 | Broadband 98 Safety 92 | 4,542 | £287,500 |
| 26 | Hoveton and Wroxham | 47 | Healthcare 38 Transport 33 | 3,190 | £400,000 |
| 27 | Hethersett | 46 | Schools 37 Transport 29 | 6,863 | £288,800 |
| 28 | Cromer | 45 | Lifestyle 45 Transport 38 | 7,497 | £260,000 |
| 29 | Terrington St Clement | 45 | Schools 30 Healthcare 24 | 3,230 | £280,750 |
| 30 | Watton | 44 | Lifestyle 32 Healthcare 27 | 12,025 | £226,000 |
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 Norfolk
The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 38 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 Norfolk 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. Norfolk has 38 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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