Derbyshire is home to two of the happiest places to live

Derbyshire is home to two of the happiest places to live in the East Midlands going into 2026, according to a new study by Rightmove.

Earlier this month Rightmove published its annual guide to the happiest places to live in the UK, using data collected from residents themselves.

Thousands of residents across over 200 areas in Great Britain told Rightmove how they feel about their area, from the friendliness of the people to the access to employment opportunities. The study also asked residents to share how happy they feel about where they live.

The data was then used to break down the 10 happiest places to live in each respective region of the country.

This year, Skipton in North Yorkshire tops the list of happiest areas, having come second in 2020 and sixth in last year’s study.

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.

“It’s great to see the town of Skipton getting the attention it deserves this year having ranked highly in previous studies.”