At Agincare, we believe that later life should be about independence, dignity, and connection — not isolation. That’s why we created the Later Life Happiness Index: a data-led snapshot of how well different areas across England support quality of life for older people.
Rather than judging councils, this Index highlights the environmental and community factors that shape ageing: from access to care and other likeminded peers in the same age group, to green spaces, social infrastructure, and healthcare. These aren’t just statistics — they reflect the everyday conditions that help older adults stay active, healthy, and supported.
Our aim is to inform and inspire showing where older people are likely to flourish, and where more support could unlock a better later life. Whether you’re a policymaker, family member, or care provider, this is one more tool to help create a future where every older person can live well — wherever they are.
Using official data, we scored every local area on five key factors that influence ageing well.
Access to Residential Care and Home Support
From residential homes to live-in care and home visits, access to care plays a vital role in supporting older adults — especially as health needs become more complex. Areas with more regulated care providers are better positioned to support both independence and safety, offering older people and their families real choice when it matters most.
Number of Community Facilities
Staying socially connected is a key part of healthy ageing. Libraries, leisure centres, day hubs, and community venues all provide vital spaces where older adults can meet others, stay active, and avoid loneliness. Community infrastructure doesn’t just support hobbies — it builds belonging and reduces isolation.
Availability of Parks and Green Spaces
Access to outdoor space is proven to benefit both mental and physical wellbeing. Whether for gentle exercise, fresh air, or simply a change of scenery, parks and green areas encourage mobility, reduce stress, and offer safe, public places to enjoy. For older adults — particularly those without a garden — they’re essential to a good quality of life.
Number of GP Surgeries
GPs are the first line of care for most people, and especially so in later life. Preventative health checks, managing long-term conditions, and accessing referrals all start here. A higher number of GP practices typically means shorter travel times, easier booking, and more personal care — all crucial for supporting independence and early intervention.
Proportion of the Population Aged 65+
We also looked at the number of older residents living in each area. Communities with a higher proportion of people over 65 may be more naturally equipped to support older life — through peer networks, targeted infrastructure, and age-aware services. In top-performing areas like Dorset and Cornwall, over 70% of the population are aged 65 or above — reinforcing the importance of planning for demographic needs.
A Nationwide View of Later Life Happiness
To bring these data points to life, we’ve visualised the Later Life Happiness Score for each local area across England. The map below shows how each area performs based on our combined Index of care access, community infrastructure, green space, healthcare availability, and older population share.
Areas shaded in deep purple represent the most supportive environments for older adults, while lighter shades highlight regions where there may be more challenges or gaps in later-life infrastructure. Notably, many of the highest-scoring areas are coastal or rural — where older populations are more prominent and community support structures are often better developed.
This map offers a high-level snapshot of where older people are most likely to thrive — and where targeted investment could make a meaningful difference.
However, there are many different reasons for happiness, and what one person considers happiness may be very different from what another person values most. This is important to keep in mind when reviewing our index, as it should not be viewed as a definitive checklist of what makes someone happy or unhappy.
The Results: Where older adults are best supported
By combining these five factors, we’ve produced a national ranking, the Later Life Happiness Index, offering a clear view of where in England older people are most likely to thrive. The purpose of this research is not to rank councils, but to highlight the conditions that help older adults remain active, healthy, and supported.
Some areas stand out for their strong care infrastructure, access to green space, and well-connected communities. Others reveal gaps that, if addressed, could significantly improve quality of life for local older populations.
Below, you’ll find the Top 20 highest-scoring areas, followed by a national map showing how every local area performs. Whether you’re a family planning future care or a policymaker working on age-friendly communities, this Index offers an evidence-based starting point for action — and a vision for what growing older with dignity and independence can look like.
England’s Top 20 Most Supportive Environments for Older Adults
North Yorkshire tops this year’s Index with a particularly strong combination of green space, community facilities, and residential care coverage. Cornwall and Somerset follow closely, with high scores in care access and strong representation of older adults within the population. Coastal and rural regions such as Wiltshire and Dorset also feature prominently — offering both physical and social environments that support connection, activity, and independence.
These areas reflect environments where infrastructure is working to support older adults in staying connected, mobile, and well-cared for — offering valuable insights into what’s possible when communities are built with age-friendliness in mind.
Areas Where Further Support Could Make a Difference
At the other end of the Index, Slough, Barking and Dagenham appear in the bottom five — often due to limited green space, lower proportions of older residents, or fewer registered care providers per capita. Reading, Cambridge and Tower Hamlets also fall lower in the rankings, highlighting the challenges that urban density, infrastructure gaps, and uneven resource distribution can present.
Many of these areas would benefit from targeted efforts — such as community hubs, improved access to healthcare, and public space improvements — to make ageing in place more viable and fulfilling.
Living by the Water: Why Blue Spaces Matter
Recent research from the University of Exeter shows that living near coastal or blue spaces is linked to improved physical and mental wellbeing — including lower anxiety, higher activity levels, and better social cohesion.
It’s no coincidence that many of the highest-ranking areas in our Index — including Cornwall, Dorset, and Somerset — are within easy reach of the coast. These environments combine natural beauty with age-friendly planning, offering a blueprint for how location can help older adults live not just longer, but better.
How Older Adults in the UK are really feeling
Based on the latest ONS data across key wellbeing indicators, older people in the UK, particularly those aged 65 and over, report some of the highest levels of satisfaction and connection in the population. These figures provide valuable context to the Later Life Happiness Index by illustrating not just what infrastructure exists, but how older adults feel about their lives, their homes, and their communities.
Mental Health and Loneliness Trends
While loneliness is often associated with older age, the data challenges this assumption. Only 3.1% of people aged 75 and over reported feeling lonely “often or always”, compared with 12.2% of 16–24-year-olds and over 10% of those aged 25 to 49. This suggests that older adults are more socially resilient than commonly believed, though continued access to transport, community hubs, and neighbourhood connection likely play a major role in these lower rates.
Satisfaction with Healthcare
Older adults are also the most likely to express satisfaction with the UK healthcare system. 53.0% of those aged 75+ said they were satisfied with the NHS — compared to just 45.7% among 50–64-year-olds and even lower figures among younger cohorts. This may reflect both generational expectations and the fact that many older people are more frequent users of the NHS, experiencing firsthand the importance of accessible, local services such as GP surgeries and community health teams.
Housing Satisfaction
Accommodation satisfaction is highest among older adults, with 96.8% of people aged 75+ saying they are fairly or very satisfied with their living situation. This figure is nearly 20 percentage points higher than among 35–49-year-olds. For care providers and policymakers, this reinforces the importance of supporting people to remain in their homes for as long as possible — through services like home care, adaptations, and local area support — to protect both quality of life and wellbeing.
Local Area and Belonging
When it comes to feeling rooted in their communities, older people again lead the way. 90.8% of people aged 75+ say they are satisfied with their local area as a place to live, and 72.3% agree they feel a strong sense of neighbourhood belonging. This sense of place is vital for mental health, mobility, and independence — highlighting how good urban planning, transport access, and safe public spaces can reinforce older adults’ connection to where they live.
A National Picture, But Local in Impact
While these statistics reflect the UK average by age group, their implications vary locally — and that’s where tools like the Later Life Happiness Index come in. Not every community delivers the same access to care, social activities, or public space — and not every older person feels equally supported. By combining national wellbeing data with local infrastructure scores, we can better understand not only where older people live, but how well they’re supported to live well.
Methodology – How We Built the Index
The Later Life Happiness Index uses publicly available data to score each local area in England on a range of environmental and infrastructural factors that influence ageing well. These include:
| Factor | Why it matters | Source |
| Access to care facilities | Indicates availability of regulated support services in later life | ONS: Enterprises and Local Units in the Care Industry, 2024 |
| Community facilities | A proxy for opportunities for connection, recreation, and social engagement | ONS: Community Assets Data |
| Green space (parks) | Associated with physical health, mental wellbeing, and mobility | ONS: Number of Parks |
| GP surgeries | Reflects ease of accessing primary and preventative healthcare | ONS: GP Practices Register |
| Population aged 65+ | Indicates natural demand and potential for age-targeted infrastructure | NOMIS: Population Aged 65+ by Local Authority (2024) |
Standard data analysis methodology (including min-max scaling and normalisation*) were used to combine and compare different metrics fairly for an overall score.
*Each factor was normalised using min-max scaling and combined into a composite score. Normalisation is a technique used to rescale values from their original units into a common scale, typically 0 to 1, so you can compare and combine different metrics fairly — especially when their original ranges vary a lot. All data reflects availability as of 2024.
The Formula Used
For each number in a metric, we calculated:
Normalised value = Original value – Minimum value / Maximum value – minimum value
Cornwall example for care & activities
- Cornwall’s raw value: 305
- Minimum value across all locations: 0
- Maximum across all locations: 465
- Plug these into the formula: 305 – 0 / 465 – 0 = 0.65591
Why We Did This
Without normalisation:
- A count of 305 in one metric (care) could dominate a value like 12.5 (GPs per 100k) purely due to scale.
- After normalisation, all metrics are scaled to the same 0–1 range.
- This allows us to average across different kinds of measurements in the index.
About Agincare
Agincare is a leading independent care provider which delivers a wide range of fully managed and flexible care options nationwide, all tailored and designed for each person’s individual needs.
Since 1986 we’ve remained a family-owned care provider, trusted by thousands of individuals to deliver reliable, high-quality care every day. We are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and provide a range of care options, from residential care to personlised support at home, live-in care, supported living and children’s services.