Revealed, happiest places to live in our region

THE happiest – and saddest – areas of Greater Manchester have been revealed by the latest government measure of our ‘wellbeing.’

Wigan folk gave the highest score when asked to rate how happy they were the previous day.

People in the area gave a rating of 7.6 out of 10 in 2018/19, although that was down from 7.7 in 2017/18.

Across the UK as a whole, there was a slight improvement in average happiness ratings from 7.5 to 7.6.

People in Salford had the lowest happiness rating locally at 7.3 out of 10, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

One in 11 people in the area (9.3 per cent ) rated their happiness as low (a score of 0 to 4).

The government’s National Wellbeing Measures, which are based on a survey of around 150,000 participants across the UK, asks four questions on happiness, life satisfaction, feeling life is worthwhile, and anxiety.

People in Trafford gave the highest rating in Greater Manchester when asked how satisfied they were with life – 7.8 out of 10.

The UK average was 7.7 out of 10 as a whole. Those in Rochdale gave the lowest rating locally at 7.5 out of 10.

Wigan also had the highest score for the degree to which people felt life was worthwhile, at 8.1 out of 10. The lowest score was 7.8 in Manchester.

This compares to the UK average of 7.9 out of 10.

Those in Manchester were the most anxious, giving an average score of 3.0 for their anxiety levels the previous day.

More than a fifth (22.5pc) of people in the area rated their anxiety levels as high (a score of between 6 and 10).

The average score for anxiety was 2.9 out of 10 across the UK.

Across the UK as a whole, Ribble Valley, in Lancashire, was the place where people gave the highest score when asked to rate how happy they were the previous day – a rating of 8.3 out of 10 in 2018/19.

People in the borough of Surrey Heath, based in Camberley, are the least likely to give high marks for happiness, with people there scoring an average of 6.7 out of 10.

Fylde, also in Lancashire, was the area where people rated their satisfaction with life most highly – with a score of 8.5 out of 10.

People in Corby, Northamptonshire were the least likely to be satisfied with life, giving a score of 7.2.