Wallingford has been ranked the best place to live in Oxfordshire and one of the top 50 best places to live across England and Wales.
The South Oxfordshire town beat the 19 other towns and villages included in the latest ranking from Garrington Property Finders in its 'Best Places to Live 2026' list.
Using official data, analysts at the property company identified nearly 1450 cities, towns and villages nationwide which score highly in at least one of the five categories they were judged on.
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These were wellbeing; schools, employment and connectivity; natural environment; heritage and culture; and house price quality and value.
In Oxfordshire, 20 towns, villages and the city of Oxford were given a place in the line-up and Wallingford came out on top, at number 42.
Following the results, a spokesperson for Wallingford Town Council said: "We are thrilled to see that Wallingford has been named the number one place to live in the county in the Garrington ‘Best Places to Live 2026’ report.
"Garrington’s property experts looked at everything that makes a town great, ranking natural beauty, wellbeing, heritage, schools and employment, and value for money.
"From our historic market square, beautiful Thames-side walks, fantastic schools and great community, Wallingford offers the perfect blend of these attributes.
"A huge thank you to all the residents, local businesses, and volunteers who make our town a national standout."
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The town ranked highly in the category of natural environment, in 182nd place, perhaps because of its rural surroundings, placement on the River Thames and its green town centre.
It also did reasonably well for wellbeing, at 279th place, and for house price quality and value, coming in at 267th in the country, with the average price of a family home estimated at £615,679.
Wallingford was ranked 384th for heritage and culture and 821st for schools, employment and connectivity.
At the other end of the scale for Oxfordshire, the village ranked worst in the county was Grove, near Wantage, which was named in 1,112th place.
It received low rankings for the categories of natural environment, placing 943rd and for schools, employment and connectivity, placing 916th.
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But it especially fell down when it came to house price quality and value, placing 1,075th - with the average price of a family home £476,785 - and for heritage and culture, which saw it in 1,138th place in all of England and Wales.
It was closely followed by Sonning Common in South Oxfordshire, between Henley and Reading, placed 1,110th.
The town named the best place to live in the country in the 2026 ranking was Marple, in Greater Manchester, a 'charming' town at the foot of the Peak District just 25 minutes from the city centre.
