Of course, there are a lot of statistics available, but getting a clear picture from them can be difficult without some good overall analysis.
With uSwitch's Best Places to Live in The UK Quality of Life Index 2015, we have aimed to help show where in the UK you can expect the best quality of life by cross analysing data for the UK's 138 NUTS 3 statistical regions, using data relating to all kinds of aspects of quality of life like cost of living, employment prospects, and even things like mobile phone network coverage and how fast the local broadband is!
We first did this study in 2013, and so this is an update to our table of the best and worst places to live in the UK using 2015 data. This also allows us to easily compare which places have undergone improvement, and which have declined in quality of life comparatively since 2013.
Cheshire West is one of the 138 regions used for statistical purposes in the UK, and is one that has dropped down our table since 2013, going from 16th place in the previous study to 42nd in the current one. This still places it in the top third of the UK, however it has dropped 26 places.
Here are some of the statistics used for Cheshire West:
Employment
Cheshire West has a healthy rate of employment with 74% of people working. While not as high as some of the places scoring very well on this like 39th place Cambridgeshire at 80%, it is a good score, particularly in comparison to other part of the North West of England like Liverpool, which has the lowest employment of all regions at 59%.
Income
Incomes are fairly low when compared UK wide, with the gross weekly income of the average person living in the Cheshire West statistical region in 2015 at £456.80 per week. Disposable income, however, is good, at £18,289 per household, per year.
House Prices
Property prices are high for the North West but not for the UK overall, averaging £170,000.
Life Expectancy
Life expectancy in Cheshire West is in line with UK averages, with male life expectancy at 79 and female at 83.
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
While the weekly grocery shop in Cheshire West is fairly average at £53 per week, it is an expensive place for motorists, with petrol averaging 118p, and car insurance premiums very high compared to UK averages at £561.60.
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
Cheshire West enjoys 96% mobile phone network availability, however its average broadband speeds are fairly low at 18.6Mbps.
Use our broadband postcode checker to see which deals and what speeds are on offer in your area.
These are just some of the statistics used in our study, which found Cheshire West to be the 42nd best place to live out of 138 in the UK.
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 .