Bowdon named among best places to live in England in 2026

Bowdon has ranked sixth in the list of almost 1,5000 locations from around England and Wales.

The list has been compiled by Garrington Property Finders Ltd and is based on a number of factors, including natural beauty, wellbeing, heritage and culture, schools and jobs, as well as the average house prices.

In total, there are five Greater Manchester locations named in the top 20 list, including Marple, which has come out on top.

The other three Greater Manchester neighbourhoods are all also located in Stockport borough. These are Bramhall, which came in fourth, Reddish, which came 11th and Stockport town, which came 15th.

According to Garrington Property Finders: “Coming sixth overall, this prestigious village also came 37th in the schools, jobs, and connectivity category of the ranking.

“Home to Premier League footballers and celebrities, and located in the prime ‘Golden Triangle’ between Manchester and Liverpool, Bowdon bucked the regional trend to become a touch more affordable, with the price of a typical family home rising by a modest 1.3% to reach £639,321.”

In terms of the individual categories, Bowdon ranked fairly highly at number 37 (out of 1,447) in the schools and jobs category and in the heritage and culture category, where it ranked 56th.

The area in which Bowdon did not rank as highly was in the natural beauty category, where it ranked 775th.

There are a handful of other Trafford locations that made the top 100. Sale just missed out on a place in the top 20, coming in at 22, followed by Urmston in 38, Altrincham in 46 and Stretford in 87. Old Trafford also made the list at 181.

The full rankings and more detailed analysis can be found on the Garrington’s website.