What is the healthiest place to live in England by the Gera Healthy-Place Index?

By the Gera Healthy-Place Index, Rutland ranks healthiest of the 145 English upper-tier local authorities with full data, scoring 92.9 / 100. It combines clean air (max 8 μg/m³ PM2.5, 8 μg/m³ NO2, DEFRA 2024), life expectancy of 84.2 years (ONS) and 100.0% of GP practices rated Good/Outstanding (CQC).

What is the Gera Healthy-Place Index and how is it calculated?

The Gera Healthy-Place Index (GHPI / 100) is a Gera composite of three real government datasets at upper-tier local-authority level: DEFRA air quality (max annual-mean PM2.5 + NO2, 2024), ONS life expectancy at birth, and the share of GP practices rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC. Each pillar is normalised 0–100 across the included areas, then weighted 40% air, 35% life expectancy, 25% GP access. Higher = healthier place. The full formula is published on the methodology page and is re-weightable in the tool.

Which areas have the cleanest air in England?

The cleanest-air areas in the Index combine low maximum modelled annual-mean PM2.5 and NO2 from DEFRA's 2024 compliance data. Across the 145 included areas the mean is 9.4 μg/m³ PM2.5 and 26.8 μg/m³ NO2; urban authorities such as Manchester record the highest NO2 (max 55 μg/m³). The WHO 2021 guideline annual means are 5 μg/m³ (PM2.5) and 10 μg/m³ (NO2).

Why are some local authorities missing from the ranking?

A local authority is only ranked when all three pillars have real published data — no value is ever assumed or set to zero. 145 of the 153 English upper-tier authorities qualify. A small number (e.g. Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness, North Yorkshire, Somerset, North and West Northamptonshire) are excluded because the ONS life-expectancy release pre-dates their 2021–2023 boundary reorganisation. They are listed transparently, not estimated.

Where does the data come from and is it free to use?

Air quality is DEFRA UK-AIR annual-mean Local Authority compliance data (2024 calendar year); life expectancy is ONS life expectancy at birth (2017-19); GP access is Care Quality Commission GP-practice ratings (2026-06-01). All three are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Gera computes the composite transparently and re-dates it on each release; the underlying figures are unaltered.

Healthiest Places to Live in England

The Gera Healthy-Place Index ranks 145 English upper-tier local authorities on three real, free government datasets — DEFRA air quality, ONS life expectancy and CQC GP access — so you can see, and re-weight, what makes a place healthy.

What are the healthiest places to live in England?

By the Gera Healthy-Place Index, Rutland is the healthiest place to live among 145 English upper-tier local authorities, scoring 92.9/100 — combining clean air (DEFRA 2024), life expectancy of 84.2 years (ONS) and 100.0% of GP practices rated Good or Outstanding (CQC). Gera re-dates the Index on each release.

Source:Gera Healthy-Place Index — composite of DEFRA + ONS + CQC open data·as of Air 2024 calendar year; life expectancy 2017-19; GP ratings 2026-06-01updated annually (last: 19 June 2026)

Gera Healthy-Place IndexRutland 92.9 / 100 (best)Per-area index (0–100) combining DEFRA air quality (40%), ONS life expectancy (35%) and CQC GP access (25%). Higher = healthier place. Covers 145 of 153 English upper-tier local authorities with full data.How this index is calculated

Top 10 healthiest places to live in England — Gera Healthy-Place Index (DEFRA + ONS + CQC, OGL v3.0)
Rank	Local authority	GHPI	Max PM2.5	Max NO2	Life expectancy	GP Good/Outstanding
1	Rutland	92.9 / 100	8 μg/m³	8 μg/m³	84.2 years	100.0%
2	Wokingham	79.4 / 100	9 μg/m³	23 μg/m³	84.1 years	100.0%
3	Dorset	79.1 / 100	7 μg/m³	18 μg/m³	83.1 years	97.3%
4	Richmond upon Thames	79.1 / 100	10 μg/m³	24 μg/m³	84.4 years	100.0%
5	Bracknell Forest	79 / 100	9 μg/m³	21 μg/m³	83.6 years	100.0%
6	Harrow	78.3 / 100	9 μg/m³	20 μg/m³	84.7 years	92.9%
7	East Riding of Yorkshire	78.2 / 100	9 μg/m³	15 μg/m³	82.1 years	100.0%
8	West Berkshire	77.2 / 100	9 μg/m³	23 μg/m³	83.5 years	100.0%
9	Buckinghamshire	77.1 / 100	9 μg/m³	23 μg/m³	83.5 years	100.0%
10	Northumberland	75.4 / 100	7 μg/m³	16 μg/m³	81.2 years	100.0%

Find the healthiest place for you

Pick your area and re-weight air quality, life expectancy and GP access to match what matters to you — the ranking updates live.

Your area (upper-tier local authority)

What matters to you? (re-weight the pillars)Air quality (DEFRA)40%Life expectancy (ONS)35%GP access (CQC)25%

Weights are normalised automatically. Defaults: 40% air, 35% life expectancy, 25% GP access.

Select your area and adjust the sliders to see your area's personalised Healthy-Place score and its rank under your own weights.

Top 5 healthiest places under your weighting

1. Rutland92.9 / 100
2. Wokingham79.4 / 100
3. Dorset79.1 / 100
4. Richmond upon Thames79.1 / 100
5. Bracknell Forest79 / 100

Healthiest places by region

Air quality deep-dives

Plus 164 district-level air-quality and life-expectancy pages linked from each area.

All 145 areas, ranked

Related NHS & area data on GeraClinic

Healthiest places to live: frequently asked questions

What is the healthiest place to live in England by the Gera Healthy-Place Index?: By the Gera Healthy-Place Index, Rutland ranks healthiest of the 145 English upper-tier local authorities with full data, scoring 92.9 / 100. It combines clean air (max 8 μg/m³ PM2.5, 8 μg/m³ NO2, DEFRA 2024), life expectancy of 84.2 years (ONS) and 100.0% of GP practices rated Good/Outstanding (CQC).
What is the Gera Healthy-Place Index and how is it calculated?: The Gera Healthy-Place Index (GHPI / 100) is a Gera composite of three real government datasets at upper-tier local-authority level: DEFRA air quality (max annual-mean PM2.5 + NO2, 2024), ONS life expectancy at birth, and the share of GP practices rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC. Each pillar is normalised 0–100 across the included areas, then weighted 40% air, 35% life expectancy, 25% GP access. Higher = healthier place. The full formula is published on the methodology page and is re-weightable in the tool.
Which areas have the cleanest air in England?: The cleanest-air areas in the Index combine low maximum modelled annual-mean PM2.5 and NO2 from DEFRA's 2024 compliance data. Across the 145 included areas the mean is 9.4 μg/m³ PM2.5 and 26.8 μg/m³ NO2; urban authorities such as Manchester record the highest NO2 (max 55 μg/m³). The WHO 2021 guideline annual means are 5 μg/m³ (PM2.5) and 10 μg/m³ (NO2).
Why are some local authorities missing from the ranking?: A local authority is only ranked when all three pillars have real published data — no value is ever assumed or set to zero. 145 of the 153 English upper-tier authorities qualify. A small number (e.g. Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness, North Yorkshire, Somerset, North and West Northamptonshire) are excluded because the ONS life-expectancy release pre-dates their 2021–2023 boundary reorganisation. They are listed transparently, not estimated.
Where does the data come from and is it free to use?: Air quality is DEFRA UK-AIR annual-mean Local Authority compliance data (2024 calendar year); life expectancy is ONS life expectancy at birth (2017-19); GP access is Care Quality Commission GP-practice ratings (2026-06-01). All three are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Gera computes the composite transparently and re-dates it on each release; the underlying figures are unaltered.

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Contains public sector information published by Gera Systems and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (source data). Source: Gera Healthy-Place Index — composite of DEFRA + ONS + CQC open data (Air 2024 calendar year; life expectancy 2017-19; GP ratings 2026-06-01, published 19 June 2026).

Source releases: air quality 2024 calendar year; life expectancy 2017-19; GP ratings 2026-06-01. All Open Government Licence v3.0. See the full methodology.