County ranking
Best places to live in Nottinghamshire
30 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.
43 towns in Nottinghamshire 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. West Bridgford takes first place with 74/100, putting two points between it and Arnold on 72. Above 65/100, which roughly one in eight UK towns this size reaches, Nottinghamshire has eight: West Bridgford (74), Arnold (72) and Carlton (Gedling) (72), among others.
The top five span £237,750 in Arnold to £361,500 in West Bridgford on median house price. From top to bottom of this table there are 23 points: 74 at the head, 51 at the foot. Category-by-category detail is on the pages for West Bridgford, Arnold and Carlton (Gedling).
| # | Town | Score | Strongest categories | Population | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Bridgford | 74 | Transport 82 Healthcare 77 | 36,743 | £361,500 |
| 2 | Arnold | 72 | Transport 83 Schools 81 | 40,131 | £237,750 |
| 3 | Carlton (Gedling) | 72 | Transport 85 Healthcare 76 | 53,602 | £241,500 |
| 4 | Wilford | 71 | Transport 83 Healthcare 79 | 4,895 | £290,000 |
| 5 | Nuthall and Watnall | 69 | Transport 66 Schools 67 | 9,177 | £302,750 |
| 6 | Beeston (Broxtowe) | 67 | Healthcare 78 Transport 76 | 52,747 | £290,000 |
| 7 | Nottingham | 67 | Healthcare 90 Transport 92 | 276,155 | £200,000 |
| 8 | Stapleford | 67 | Healthcare 87 Schools 72 | 15,382 | £220,000 |
| 9 | Ruddington | 64 | Lifestyle 63 Healthcare 56 | 7,201 | £287,500 |
| 10 | Mansfield Woodhouse | 63 | Transport 74 Schools 69 | 18,912 | £200,000 |
| 11 | Retford | 61 | Lifestyle 95 Healthcare 64 | 23,887 | £185,000 |
| 12 | Balderton | 60 | Lifestyle 72 Healthcare 57 | 9,582 | £225,000 |
| 13 | Hucknall | 60 | Lifestyle 86 Healthcare 62 | 30,275 | £211,000 |
| 14 | Mansfield | 59 | Healthcare 76 Transport 78 | 64,704 | £190,000 |
| 15 | Clifton (Nottingham) | 58 | Healthcare 70 Transport 70 | 23,293 | £200,000 |
| 16 | Eastwood | 58 | Healthcare 64 Broadband 99 | 18,471 | £220,000 |
| 17 | Forest Town | 58 | Transport 65 Schools 58 | 10,910 | £206,750 |
| 18 | Kirkby-in-Ashfield | 58 | Healthcare 71 Transport 71 | 21,039 | £178,000 |
| 19 | Kimberley | 56 | Broadband 97 Healthcare 54 | 4,897 | £220,000 |
| 20 | Annesley Woodhouse | 55 | Transport 56 Healthcare 52 | 6,472 | £190,000 |
| 21 | Huthwaite | 55 | Healthcare 58 Transport 60 | 5,166 | £181,000 |
| 22 | Radcliffe on Trent | 55 | Transport 50 Lifestyle 39 | 7,186 | £318,975 |
| 23 | Brinsley and Underwood | 54 | Broadband 95 Transport 42 | 4,383 | £234,185 |
| 24 | Sutton in Ashfield | 53 | Transport 72 Healthcare 64 | 36,742 | £177,000 |
| 25 | Newark-on-Trent | 52 | Healthcare 64 Transport 61 | 30,826 | £206,000 |
| 26 | Selston | 52 | Transport 46 Healthcare 41 | 6,517 | £190,000 |
| 27 | Southwell (Newark and Sherwood) | 52 | Lifestyle 43 Healthcare 32 | 6,666 | £394,000 |
| 28 | East Leake | 51 | Broadband 87 Healthcare 40 | 8,301 | £295,000 |
| 29 | Stanton Hill and Skegby | 51 | Transport 58 Lifestyle 51 | 4,373 | £195,000 |
| 30 | Worksop | 51 | Transport 71 Healthcare 53 | 43,181 | £200,000 |
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 Nottinghamshire
The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 43 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.
Pick a persona or set a filter to re-rank 43 towns in place.
How this ranking was built
Every settlement in Nottinghamshire 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. Nottinghamshire has 43 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.
Check your exact postcode
Get a personalised score for any UK postcode, tailored to what matters most to you.
Score my postcode