Every London borough ranked from happiest to most miserable

London isn’t always a joyful place to be. It can have an unfriendly reputation, it drains our bank accounts dry, too many phones get nabbed and it’s often cold, dark and grey. But the city is also full of things that will instantly boost your mood – vast green spaces, delicious food, gorgeous art and wholesome community gatherings. Given all that, it may come as no surprise that the Big Smoke is home to some of Great Britain’s happiest and least happy residents, according to a new survey. 

Property platform Rightmove has released its Happy at Home Index 2025, showing where people feel the most and least happy living. Tens of thousands of Brits from more than 200 parts of the country told the site their feelings on different aspects of their hometown, including access to green spaces, the sense of community, safety and proximity to amenities.

Richmond-upon-Thames was crowned the happiest borough in London for yet another year. The borough consistently ranks highly in the index and was the second happiest area in all of Britain. Its residents rated it highly access to nature (Richmond Park, Bushy Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew are all local) and essential local services, and for its spread of independent shops and restaurants (see Time Out’s favourite restaurants in Richmond here). But if you want a house here, it’ll set you back an average of £760,700. 

In second place (and third nationally) was the borough of Camden, which also has a bunch of posh neighbourhoods like Belsize Park, Primrose Hill and Bloomsbury and loads of vast green space like Hampstead Heath and Regent’s Park. The average asking price there is a staggering £1,036,768 and average rent is £3,523 per month – the most expensive of Britain’s top 10 happiest areas. Third place went to Wandsworth, which includes the likes of Putney, Battersea and Clapham. 

Right at the bottom of the pile was the borough of Barking and Dagenham, which ranked 220th nationally. Read why it’s not all bad here. Just above it was Newham, which placed 219th nationally, then Havering, which ranked 218th. 

Every London borough ranked from happiest to most miserable

1. Richmond-upon-Thames
2. Camden
3. Wandsworth
4. Merton
5. Southwark
6. Kingston-upon-Thames
7. Islington
8. Kensington and Chelsea
9. Tower Hamlets 
10. Bromley 
11. Lambeth
12. Waltham Forest 
13. Westminster 
14. Houslow
15. Haringey
16. Hammersmith and Fulham
17. Greenwich
18. Hackney 
19. Ealing
20. Redbridge
21. Lewisham
22. Sutton 
23. Harrow 
24. Barnet
25. Hillingdon
26. Croydon
27. City of London
28. Bexley
29. Brent 
30. Enfield 
31. Havering
32. Newham 
33. Barking and Dagenham 

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