Our data sources
We combine several official, publicly available datasets rather than relying on any single source. Each one is a real, recently-pulled snapshot — we're working towards keeping them on a regular refresh cycle, and we'll say so here honestly once that's actually true rather than claim it early.
HM Land Registry
Actual sold property prices, used for realistic price-range estimates by area and property type.
Office for National Statistics
Local population figures per area — used internally to turn raw crime counts into a meaningful rate (crimes per resident, not just a number that tracks how big or busy an area is).
Police.uk
Recorded crime statistics by area, shown alongside your matches for context. Not currently a ranking factor — the quiz doesn't yet ask what you're comfortable with here, and we'd rather leave it out of scoring than guess.
Ofsted
School inspection ratings, for anyone who told us school quality matters to their decision.
Ofcom
Full-fibre broadband coverage data, for anyone prioritising fast, reliable internet.
Public transport operators
Timetable and journey-time data used to estimate realistic commute times, not straight-line distance.
How the matching works
Three steps, no black box.
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1
You tell us what actually matters to you
Commute, budget, property type, and the things that make an area livable for you specifically — not a generic checklist.
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2
We check that against the real data above
Every UK area is scored against your specific answers using the sourced datasets — the same data for every user, every time.
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3
We rank the areas that genuinely fit
You get your top matches with the reasoning behind each one, so you can see why an area was suggested, not just that it was.
Our one non-negotiable
We do not accept payment to rank an area higher. No area, agent, or developer can pay to appear in or above your results. Rankings are based only on how well an area matches what you told us.
Estimates on this site (commute times, price ranges) are a strong starting point, not a guarantee for any individual property — always confirm specifics before you commit to a decision as big as where you live.
Frequently asked
How accurate are the commute times and price ranges?
They're estimates built from public transport timetable data and HM Land Registry price paid data — the same real, official sources every figure on this site draws from. Strong starting point, not a guarantee for any individual property.
Do you accept payment to rank an area higher in results?
No. We do not accept paid placement in our rankings, ever.
Is my quiz data shared with anyone?
We never sell your data or share it for marketing. We ask for your first name and email when you sign up so we can set up your profile; marketing emails are optional and only if you tick the box. Your answers are used to produce your matches, with a few services helping along the way (for example turning your postcode into map coordinates and working out journey times). Our Privacy Policy lists exactly who receives what.
Data licences and acknowledgements
Where To Live is built on public data. We're grateful to the organisations below for publishing it, and the licences require us to say so. Our figures are summaries and estimates we calculate from this data; the publishers have not checked or endorsed them.
Property prices
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We publish typical price ranges per postcode district, never individual addresses.
Postcodes and map coordinates (via postcodes.io)
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains NRS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Population
Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Crime
Source: data.police.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Schools
Source: Ofsted. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Broadband
Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Maps
© OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence.