This latest version of our table uses data from 2015, but we have also compared our results to the last time we calculated our quality of life index in 2013, so that it is possible to see where some places have improved, or have been in decline for quality of life in the past couple of years.
Leicester in the East Midlands of England is a region of the UK that has seen some statistical improvement for quality of life since 2013, rising from number 122 in our league table of the best places to live in 2013 to 101 in 2015.
Below are some of the stats for Leicester that were used in uSwitch's Best Places to Live in The UK Quality of Life Index for 2015:
Employment
Leicester has fairly poor overall employment rates, with 64% of people living in Leicester having a job. 45% of the population of Leicester in 2015 were working normal full time hours of 35-45 hours a week. 20% on top of that were working 45 or more hours per week in Leicester, which is a lower than average amount of people considered to be overworking.
Income
Incomes in Leicester were on the higher end of average for the UK in 2015. The gross weekly income per person was £472.80. Disposable income in Leicester is extremely low compared to the rest of the UK, however, at £11,739 per annum for a household.
House Prices
House prices in Leicester are low, as is the case in most of the East Midlands, with the average house in this statistical region selling in 2015 for £125k.
Life Expectancy
In Leicester, life expectancy from birth is actually below UK averages, and one of the lowest in our 2015 study at 77 for men and 82 for women.
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
The cost of living in Leicester is fairly average by UK standards. A weekly grocery shop for a Leicester household in 2015 cost £55. Petrol prices are average too at 117p in Leicester in 2015.
Other Important Factors
Leicester has excellent mobile phone network coverageat 99% - this is the highest any region in the study has. Its broadband speeds are very good too, but not among the UK's highest at 29.8Mbps on average in 2015.
How do your broadband speeds compare to the national average? Test them with our broadband speed checker.
Leicester has a few positives like good technology, fairly cheap houses and reasonable cost of living, but due to things like its low disposable income and poor employment statistics it still ends up in the bottom half of our table of the best places to live in the UK in 2015.
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 .