With all the diversity in the UK in terms of things like income and cost of living, uSwitch has performed a data analysis across a wide range of factors for all of these statistical regions to come up with uSwitch's Best Places to Live in The UK Quality of Life Index – a measurement of quality of life across the UK.
This index has allowed us to create a 'league table' of all of the regions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to show where the best places to live are, listing regions from best to worst.
We previously carried out a similar analysis back in 2013, so this updated table of the best places to live not only shows a good current view of where you can get the best quality of life in the UK, but also how regions are performing compared to how they did in 2013.
Buckinghamshire CC is a UK statistical region that has dropped quite a lot since the first analysis in 2013, going from a very good 11th place down to 44th. This still places it in the top third of the UK, but it seems its desirability has decreased – by 33 places to be exact – from a statistical point of view.
Here are some statistics for Buckinghamshire CC:
Employment
Buckinghamshire CC has a very good rate of employment with 79% of people in work. Strangely, however, the percentage of people working standard full time hours of 35-45 hours per week is lower than average at 38%. Also, the number of people working over 45 hours per week – seen as a sign of bad work life balance and therefore poorer quality of life, is extremely high comparative to the rest of the UK at 30%.
Income
Incomes are high, with the average person in Buckinghamshire CC in 2015 having a gross weekly income of £535.43. Disposable income is among the highest in the UK at £23,341 per household, per year.
House Prices
House prices are also among the highest in the UK with the average home in 2015 costing £362,500. Rental too, is high at £80 per person, per week.
Life Expectancy
Buckinghamshire CC has higher than average life expectancy – for men it is 81 and for women 85.
Life expectancy is an influential factor that insurance companies use to determine life insurance premiums. You can check our advice guide on how to get a cheaper life insurance policy.
Living Costs
Living costs are above average, though fairly standard for the South East of England. A weekly grocery shop for a household costs £63. Petrol prices are about average at 117p, though car insurance is expensive at £556.40.
Even though, the insurance premiums are high, there are certain steps you can take to find the best car insurance deals for you.
Other Important Factors
Buckinghamshire CC has fairly mediocre average broadband speeds, at 21.6Mbps, and surprisingly low availability of mobile phone signal at 89%.
Use our broadband postcode checker to see which deals and what speeds are on offer in your area.
Buckinghamshire CC has some very attractive features like its high employment rates and incomes, however these come with expensive housing prices and a high cost of living.
More to life than rankings
At uSwitch, we know that there is more to life than rankings, stats and figures, and our Qualify of Life Index merely highlights the vast differences in the experiences of people across the UK.
Whether you're living in the best city or the worst, millions of households in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face financial struggles including rising energy bills and credit card debt. That's why it's more important than ever for households to assess their budgets, and uSwitch.com offers a great way to start.
Below you can find ways to save on everything from car insurance to mobile bills.
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Place to Live 2015 — Where did your region rank?
About the research
The uSwitch.com study assessed 138 local areas (NUTS3 regions) for 26 factors such as salaries, disposable household income, and the cost of essential goods including food bills, fuel costs and energy bills. The study also factored in lifestyle issues like hours of sunshine, working hours and life expectancy to ensure a full picture of the quality of life in each NUTS3 region.
For more about the study's methodology, read the full press release .