County ranking
Best places to live in South Yorkshire
30 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.
This ranking covers the 58 South Yorkshire towns above 3,000 people that we can score in at least 8 of 9 categories, with the best 30 listed. Sheffield leads on 67/100, two points clear of Barugh Green and Redbrook on 65. Above 65/100, which roughly one in eight UK towns this size reaches, South Yorkshire has three: Sheffield (67), Barugh Green and Redbrook (65) and Ecclesfield and Grenoside (65).
On price, Brinsworth is the top five's cheapest at a median of £183,000. Sprotbrough, also in the top five, runs to £245,000. Across the 30 towns listed, scores run from 67 down to 54, a 13-point spread. Full breakdowns for the leaders: Sheffield, Barugh Green and Redbrook and Ecclesfield and Grenoside.
| # | Town | Score | Strongest categories | Population | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield | 67 | Healthcare 86 Transport 88 | 495,821 | £213,000 |
| 2 | Barugh Green and Redbrook | 65 | Transport 69 Healthcare 63 | 7,379 | £243,000 |
| 3 | Ecclesfield and Grenoside | 65 | Transport 81 Healthcare 74 | 8,084 | £228,550 |
| 4 | Sprotbrough | 64 | Healthcare 68 Transport 64 | 7,036 | £245,000 |
| 5 | Brinsworth | 63 | Transport 76 Healthcare 60 | 8,759 | £183,000 |
| 6 | Thorpe Hesley | 63 | Lifestyle 70 Transport 57 | 4,255 | £225,000 |
| 7 | Barnsley | 62 | Healthcare 78 Transport 76 | 69,565 | £165,000 |
| 8 | Chapeltown and High Green | 61 | Transport 77 Schools 58 | 22,481 | £225,000 |
| 9 | Penistone | 61 | Healthcare 57 Transport 52 | 8,875 | £230,000 |
| 10 | Darton | 60 | Transport 62 Healthcare 52 | 14,956 | £216,000 |
| 11 | Wickersley and Bramley | 60 | Schools 63 Transport 59 | 23,662 | £223,750 |
| 12 | Scawthorpe and Cusworth | 59 | Healthcare 70 Transport 71 | 12,545 | £190,000 |
| 13 | Deepcar | 58 | Transport 61 Healthcare 51 | 5,086 | £180,099 |
| 14 | Doncaster | 58 | Healthcare 78 Transport 73 | 77,376 | £170,000 |
| 15 | Worsbrough | 58 | Transport 67 Healthcare 62 | 8,807 | £162,500 |
| 16 | Greasbrough | 57 | Healthcare 75 Transport 76 | 3,245 | £178,000 |
| 17 | Rotherham | 57 | Transport 80 Healthcare 74 | 73,007 | £165,500 |
| 18 | Wombwell | 57 | Transport 64 Healthcare 54 | 16,405 | £176,500 |
| 19 | Bentley (Doncaster) | 56 | Healthcare 75 Transport 75 | 12,705 | £125,000 |
| 20 | Bolton upon Dearne | 56 | Transport 74 Healthcare 61 | 7,498 | £135,000 |
| 21 | Swinton (Rotherham) | 56 | Transport 71 Schools 62 | 15,386 | £180,000 |
| 22 | Dodworth | 55 | Transport 62 Lifestyle 53 | 5,769 | £189,000 |
| 23 | Oughtibridge | 55 | Transport 46 Healthcare 41 | 3,387 | £287,888 |
| 24 | Swallownest and Aston | 55 | Schools 65 Transport 58 | 13,805 | £210,000 |
| 25 | Armthorpe | 54 | Broadband 97 Healthcare 53 | 13,589 | £180,000 |
| 26 | Goldthorpe | 54 | Healthcare 67 Transport 70 | 7,115 | £145,000 |
| 27 | Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe | 54 | Broadband 99 Transport 56 | 13,075 | £203,500 |
| 28 | Rawmarsh | 54 | Schools 68 Healthcare 63 | 18,914 | £165,000 |
| 29 | Royston (Barnsley) | 54 | Healthcare 59 Transport 55 | 10,635 | £190,000 |
| 30 | Tickhill | 54 | Broadband 89 Healthcare 38 | 4,508 | £284,000 |
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 South Yorkshire
The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 58 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 South Yorkshire 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. South Yorkshire has 58 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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