Staffordshire city named one of UK's happiest places to live
A recent survey has found the happiest places to live in the West Midlands.
More than 19,500 people took part in Rightmove's 2025 happy at home survey, which seeks to identify the happiest places to live across Britain.
While the survey highlighted the overall happiest places to live, it also revealed regional rankings, and Lichfield was named among the happiest places in the West Midlands.
The Staffordshire city ranked second in the West Midlands, behind Leamington Spa, and ahead of Stratford-upon-Avon and Shrewsbury as well as Tamworth, also in Staffordshire.
On a wider scale, Lichfield performed well, coming in 13th place in the overall rankings of happiest places to live.
The five happiest places to live in the West Midlands according to Rightmove are:
Leamington Spa
Lichfield
Stratford-on-Avon
Shrewsbury
Tamworth
From its findings, Rightmove said people who live in a rural location are more likely to say they feel happy where they lived than urban and suburban dwellers.
Skipton in North Yorkshire was crowned the happiest place to live in Britain for 2025, with Richmond upon Thames and Camden in London securing second and third places, respectively.
Rightmove noted that residents in the South West of England are generally the happiest with where they live, while those in the East Midlands are the least satisfied.
The study also found that happiness with one's living situation tends to increase with age, potentially due to larger housing budgets as people grow older. Residents aged 18 to 24 were the least likely to be satisfied with their living situation, while those aged 65 and over were the most likely to feel content.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: "Each year our study celebrates all the different things that make us feel happy with where we live - our neighbours, green spaces, having access to important services.
"A lot more goes into choosing an area to live other than the home itself. Being within easy reach of nature and green spaces regularly comes out as an important factor for people, along with having friendly neighbours and feeling you can truly be yourself where you live."
