BASINGSTOKE has been named as one of the top 50 places to live in Britain in 2020, beating hundreds of locations around the U.K.
While the nearby district of Hart - which includes Hook and Odiham - was ranked as the third best place to live in the country.
The findings were published in Halifax's annual Quality of Life survey.
The high street bank rated Basingstoke as the town as the 49th best place to live, factoring in the area’s employment rate, earnings, housing affordability, health and wellbeing, education, traffic and crime rates.
Hampshire dominated the top three of the rankings, with Fareham near Portsmouth in second place and Hart in third. Only two entries in the top 10 were outside of the south east: Hambleton in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Factors relating to wellbeing played a significant role in securing the top three places for East Hertfordshire, Fareham, and Hart - with high scores on general health and happiness.
East Hertfordshire and Hart score well on life expectancy, where males can expect to live an average of 82.5 years, 3 years above the national average and females to 85, 2 years above the national average.
Those living in Hart and Fareham score highly for life satisfaction - 8.2 out of 10 on average, compared to 7.8 for the UK. Employment levels are also significantly higher - 87.2% in Hart and 82.2% in Fareham, compared to 75% for the rest of the country.
Here’s the full list of the top 50 best places to live in the UK:
1. East Hertfordshire, East of England
2. Fareham, South East
3. Hart, South East
4. Horsham, South East
5. Maldon, East of England
6. Selby, Yorkshire and the Humber
7. Hambleton, Yorkshire and the Humber
8. Babergh, East of England
9. St Edmundsbury, East of England
10. Wokingham, South East
11. Ryedale, Yorkshire and the Humber
12. South Derbyshire, East Midlands
13. South Cambridgeshire, East of England
14. Tonbridge and Malling, South East
15. Rugby, West Midlands
16. Runnymede, South East
17. Wychavon, West Midlands
18. Orkney, Scotland
19. Woking, South East
20. Warwick, West Midlands
21. South Oxfordshire, South East
22. Rushcliffe, East Midlands
23. Huntingdonshire, East of England
24. Newark and Sherwood, East Midlands
25. Rushmoor, South East
26. Forest Heath, East of England
27. Elmbridge, South East
28. Wiltshire, South West
29. Gedling, East Midlands
30. North Dorset, South West
31. Rutland, East Midlands
32. Tewkesbury, South West
33. Rochford, East of England
34. Winchester, South East
35. Bracknell Forest, South East
36. Cherwell, South East
37. Central Bedfordshire, East of England
38. Charnwood, East Midlands
39. Forest of Dean, South West
40. Vale of White Horse, South East
41. West Berkshire, South East
42. New Forest, South East
43. North Warwickshire, West Midlands
44. Guildford, South East
45. Swindon, South West
46. Lichfield, West Midlands
47. Suffolk Coastal, East of England
48. York, Yorkshire and the Humber
49. Basingstoke and Deane, South East
50. Erewash, East Midlands
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