The London Borough of Sutton ranked 310th out of 1,447 locations in the latest Best Places to Live guide, published by Garrington Property Finders.
The annual report evaluates towns and boroughs across England and Wales based on 18 factors, including education, employment, green space, heritage, house prices, and public health.
Sutton scored particularly well in the combined category of schools, employment, and connectivity – ranking 40th nationally.
The borough is home to several top-performing schools, such as the selective Sutton Grammar School and Nonsuch High School for Girls.
The borough also held its own in the natural environment category, placing 120th overall.
This reflects Sutton’s good access to green spaces and relatively clean air, especially for an outer London area.
Local parks like Manor Park, Nonsuch Park, and Oaks Park offer a blend of landscaped gardens, woodland paths, and wide-open fields, perfect for walks, picnics, and unwinding on the weekends.
However, the borough ranked poorly for wellbeing, placing 1,384th, one of the lowest scores in the study.
This metric includes physical and mental health, life satisfaction and access to wellbeing services.
Sutton also scored 1,189th for house price quality and value.
The average cost of a family home was calculated at £770,931, based on recent sales data and a typical home size of 1,500 square feet.
That figure is nearly three times the average home price in England (£290,564) and nearly four times the average in Wales (£208,197).
The borough’s heritage and cultural ranked slightly higher, coming in at 418th.
The area was once a key stop on ancient coaching routes, and remnants of its past can still be seen in local landmarks like Whitehall Historic House in Cheam.
Sutton’s cultural scene is growing, with the Secombe Theatre and Sutton Library’s arts and events programme contributing to a sense of community.
Garrington’s report is based entirely on publicly available data, with no subjective input, and only includes locations with a population of more than 5,000.
The ranking is intended as a guide to desirable places to live, not a list of worst-performing areas.
No London boroughs made it into the top ten of the rankings.
However, three areas in North Surrey did feature in the top 10, securing the second, eighth, and tenth spots respectively.
Although Sutton did not rank among the highest-rated locations, its strong performance in transport, schools, and employment indicates it remains a practical and appealing option – particularly for working families and those commuting into central London.
