Winchester has been ranked as the second happiest place to live in Great Britain for 2023 according to Rightmove.

The cathedral city featured just behind Richmond-upon-Thames in the list, and was Hampshire's only representative in the top 20.

Rightmove’s 12th annual Happy at Home Index asks residents how they feel about their area and was completed this year by over 26,000 people.

The study found that feeling a sense of pride, belonging, and community is most likely to contribute to feeling happy to live in an area, more so than having access to things like public transport, schools and job opportunities.

Rightmove's Top 20 happiest places to live in Great Britain 2023

Rightmove's top 20 happiest places to live list for 2023 where Winchester featured was as follows:

  1. Richmond-upon-Thames, London
  2. Winchester, Hampshire
  3. Monmouth, Monmouthshire
  4. Wokingham, Berkshire
  5. Cirencester, Gloucestershire
  6. Skipton, North Yorkshire
  7. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
  8. Kensington and Chelsea, London
  9. St Ives, Cornwall
  10. Hexham, Northumberland
  11. Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
  12. Harrogate, North Yorkshire
  13. Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
  14. Kendal, Cumbria
  15. Galashiels, Scottish borders
  16. Weymouth, Dorset
  17. Woodbridge, Suffolk
  18. Anglesey, Wales
  19. St Albans, Hertfordshire
  20. Stourbridge, West Midlands

Winchester's average asking price for a house during 2023 was £571,613 and the average asking rent per calendar month was £2,097.

Hampshire Chronicle: Winchester was only beaten out by Richmond-upon-Thames as the happiest place to liveWinchester was only beaten out by Richmond-upon-Thames as the happiest place to live (Image: Toby Oliver)

The full map of Great Britain and lists that break down by region can be found on the Rightmove website here.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert said: “Searching for new areas outside of the city that are still commutable on office days and looking for cheaper properties that are in need of renovation are just some of the actions we’ve seen determined movers take this year.

"The results of this year’s study highlights that residents continue to value living near green spaces and natural beauty, features that became all the more important during the pandemic.

"With moving to an area that makes them happy a key motivator for people looking for their next home, highlighting these types of features nearby could really help sellers looking to appeal to potential buyers”.