Greasby, #1 on this list · Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0

Merseyside · 2026

Best places to live in Merseyside

Q: What is the best place to live in Merseyside?

Greasby ranks first of 25 graded towns of 2,500+: safety (A) and jobs & income (A) are its strongest grades; cost of living (C−) is its lowest. West Kirby and Meols follow.

Greasby ranks first of 25 Merseyside towns of 2,500+ residents, and #256 of 2,138 UK towns. 4 of the 25 grade A− or better; scores run from 65.5 down to 20.5.

The overall score, sorted within Merseyside; the letter compares each town with every UK town, and its rank among UK towns sits beside it. How grades work

Greasby

Merseyside · 9,175 people

Score 65.5·#256 of 2,138 UK towns

Strongest: safety A, jobs & income A·lowest: cost of living C⁻

West Kirby

Merseyside · 13,383 people

Score 64.9·#277 of 2,138 UK towns

Strongest: schools A⁺, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: cost of living D

Meols

Merseyside · 5,023 people

A⁻

Score 59.5·#494 of 2,138 UK towns

Strongest: safety A, jobs & income A·lowest: cost of living D

All 25 towns, ranked

By overall score against UK towns; ranks are within Merseyside, and each UK rank links to the national list. The score (0–100) blends the seven livability grades and sets the order; the letter places that score among UK towns of 2,500+, and A+ is the top 5%, so neighbours on the list often share a letter.

Every town in Merseyside →

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25 towns.

#TownScoreGrade · UK rankWhat drives it

1Greasby9,175 people65.5top 12.4%A#256 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety A, jobs & income A·lowest: cost of living C⁻

2West Kirby13,383 people64.9top 13.3%A#277 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: cost of living D

3Meols5,023 people59.5top 23.6%A⁻#494 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety A, jobs & income A·lowest: cost of living D

4Heswall29,082 people59.0top 24.3%A⁻#510 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁻, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: cost of living D

5Formby22,892 people58.0top 26.6%B⁺#559 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A⁻, schools A⁻·lowest: cost of living D⁻

6Hoylake5,311 people55.8top 31.0%B⁺#653 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, walkability A·lowest: cost of living C⁻

7Lydiate6,516 people51.9top 39.0%B#823 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety A, hazard risk B⁺·lowest: cost of living D

8Billinge4,963 people48.2top 47.2%B⁻#999 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, schools A⁻·lowest: walkability D

9Bebington57,607 people47.0top 49.8%B⁻#1,056 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, jobs & income B·lowest: health C

10Rainford5,573 people44.2bottom 43.0%C⁺#1,211 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety B⁺, hazard risk B⁺·lowest: cost of living D

11Aintree6,212 people41.7bottom 37.6%C⁺#1,329 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income B·lowest: cost of living D

12Maghull20,367 people39.9bottom 33.4%C#1,417 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income B⁺, walkability B·lowest: cost of living D

13Crosby50,218 people34.6bottom 19.8%C⁻#1,711 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk A·lowest: cost of living D

14Southport94,438 people33.5bottom 17.1%C⁻#1,768 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, hazard risk B·lowest: cost of living C⁻

15Prescot39,227 people30.6bottom 11.6%D#1,888 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, hazard risk B·lowest: cost of living D

16Birkenhead109,854 people30.3bottom 11.1%D#1,898 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk B⁺·lowest: health D⁻

17Wallasey85,619 people29.3bottom 9.7%D#1,928 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, hazard risk B⁻·lowest: schools D

18Haydock16,143 people28.3bottom 7.7%D#1,972 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk B⁺, walkability B⁻·lowest: health D

19Huyton with Roby59,844 people28.0bottom 7.2%D#1,982 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk B·lowest: health D⁻

20Newton-le-Willows24,651 people27.7bottom 6.9%D#1,990 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk B⁺, walkability B·lowest: health D

21Litherland18,752 people26.3bottom 5.2%D#2,026 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk A·lowest: health D⁻

22St Helens107,684 people26.2bottom 5.0%D#2,029 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, hazard risk C⁺·lowest: health D⁻

23Bootle53,722 people22.9bottom 2.3%D⁻#2,088 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, hazard risk A·lowest: health D⁻

24Liverpool506,564 people22.1bottom 1.9%D⁻#2,097 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, hazard risk C⁺·lowest: health D⁻

25Kirkby45,559 people20.5bottom 0.8%D⁻#2,121 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk B·lowest: health D⁻

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in Merseyside?

Greasby ranks first of 25 graded towns of 2,500+: safety (A) and jobs & income (A) are its strongest grades; cost of living (C−) is its lowest. West Kirby and Meols follow.

How are these towns ranked?

By the overall grade, which blends seven livability grades (cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs & income, walkability, hazard risk) from public data, each comparing a town with every UK town. The rank is within Merseyside. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers places of 2,500+ residents with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their subject grades on their own pages; every town in Merseyside is listed on the county page.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.