LSH’s annual Vitality Index identifies the UK’s best places to live & work

An annual health assessment of the UK’s largest towns and cities has identified Windsor & Maidenhead as the UK’s best place to live and work. The Vitality Index from property consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), offers a definitive annual health check on the top 100 towns and cities outside of London, based on a range of metrics including economy, health & environment and living.

Download the latest Vitality Index Report 2025 in full here →

Having previously topped the rankings in 2022, Windsor & Maidenhead returns as the UK’s top-ranked location in the 2025 Vitality Index. The Berkshire borough climbed from fifth position last year to knock last year’s winner Watford off top spot. A consistent presence within the Vitality Index top ten over the past five years, Windsor & Maidenhead secured its status via high rankings across six of the pillar’s seven metrics.

Jennifer Lamb, associate director in in LSH’s Maidenhead office, said: “It’s great to see Windsor & Maidenhead at the top of this year’s Vitality Index, and to see it performing so well in terms of business and the economy, underlining the borough’s growing appeal among employers and office occupiers. The new developments of Tempo and One Maidenhead have brought both new workers and residents to Maidenhead, while new retailers moving into Windsor Yards has reinforced the town’s status as a top shopping destination”.

Milton Keynes makes its debut in the top three rankings, having secured second place in this year’s index. The fast-growing city climbed six positions on last year, drawing much of its strength from placing second for economy & business, having achieved top scores across many other metrics.

Meanwhile, Watford dropped to third place in this year’s Vitality Index, having topped the index for the first time in 2024.

This year’s top ten is once again heavily biased towards locations in the south-east, with eight of this year’s top locations located within the UK’s southernmost regions. The top five are all located near London, with their success reflecting the strength of London’s economic influence.

Regions including the South-West, East, Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, North-East, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are conspicuous by their absence and point towards a stubborn north/south divide that appears difficult to eradicate.

Dr Steven Norris, head of Planning, Regeneration + Infrastructure (PR+I) at LSH, said: “The dominance of south-east locations in the top tier for vitality has been a consistent theme since we launched the index in 2013. But the paucity of representation from other parts of the country continues to underline the clear inequalities in health and wealth evident across the country.

“On a positive note, many of the UK’s urban locations witnessed improvements across a host of indicators over the lastyear and there appears to be a political will to effect change. In its mission to deliver a growth agenda, the new government is prioritising the urgent need to address these disparities and deliver opportunities for prosperity. Only time will tell whether devolution and other initiatives will help address the longstanding economic underperformance of places outside of London and the South-East”.

Download the latest Vitality Index Report 2025 in full here →