The 18 happiest West Midlands towns and cities to live in 2024 revealed

The online property portal has issued its latest Happy at Home study with the help of 35,000 respondents from across the country, all chirping in with how they feel about where they live and if they would rather live elsewhere. 

The study, now in its 13th year, asked residents how they feel about a number of factors in their area and a Black Country city has landed an impressive place on the list, while Dudley slumps at rock bottom and a Staffordshire city takes the cake. 

In the study, residents expressed opinions on topics such as how proud they feeI about where they live, their sense of belonging, community spirit, whether they can be themselves, whether they can earn enough to live comfortably in their area, public transport, sports and recreation, green spaces and artistic and cultural activities.

Residents in Stourbridge can shout from the rooftops that, according to the study, their quaint town took the 8th spot in a list of 18 places across the West Midlands. 

Other Black Country towns and cities mentioned include Wolverhampton, which ranked at number 14 on the list, just four places from bottom. 

According to the study, it's Walsall and Dudley that are less favourable against the rest, as Walsall landed in 17th, but it's grim reading for Dudley as they placed last on the list at number 18. 

In terms of results against the rest of the country, Stourbridge still ranked well at 93rd, while Wolverhampton was placed 192nd, Walsall was 215th and Dudley hit 217th. 

One of the most impressive ranks came from Staffordshire, as Lichfield claimed the biggest bragging rights coming in at third place, with a national rank of 27. 

And another boast-worthy mention is made for Stafford, which was 10th placed locally and 118th nationally. 

Rightmove has explained how they pulled the study together, saying: “The results of this year’s study showed that the most important contributors to happiness were feeling a sense of pride, belonging and community.

“Access to green space and nature is also important to residents, with those living in a rural area near a national park, or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, more likely to feel happy where they live.”

Location trends

This year, residents of areas in Scotland, Wales and the South West said they were happiest with where they live overall, while those in the East and West Midlands said they were the least happy.

Just over a third (34 per cent) of people said they thought they’d be happier living somewhere else. These residents were most likely to live in the West Midlands, and they were most likely to want to move to the South West.

Gen-Z (18-24 year olds) were the most likely to say that they thought they’d be happier living in a different area, while those aged 55+ were the least likely, suggesting we become more content with our surroundings as we get older or secure our forever home.

For anyone looking to be happier where they live, the type of environment that made residents the happiest was a rural location by a woodland or forest, and also near a National Park or National Landscape, formerly known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Here are the West Midlands top 18, then where the area scored nationally:

Stratford on Avon 13

Leamington Spa 21

Lichfield 27

Sutton Coldfield 36

Worcester 58

Telford 72

Hereford 86

Stourbridge 93

Shrewsbury 103

Stafford 118

Tamworth 122

Solihull 138

Coventry 189

Wolverhampton 192

Stoke on Trent 202

Birmingham 211 

Walsall 215

Dudley 217