Holding on to a place in the top 10, but down from last year's second place, this 50,000 person strong market town also gives its name to the surrounding district (population 125,000), where settlements have existed since Anglo-Saxon times.
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A lively market town in West Sussex just 20 miles from the south coast, this Local Authority ranked high with us due to low crime levels, high education standards and long life expectancy. If you're looking for trouble you've come to the wrong place!
But before you sell up and head for Horsham, the secrets out! Neighbouring Crawley is expanding so fast it's consuming Horsham, whilst a growing Gatwick could cause problems too.
The Anglo Saxons would probably be surprised to see Horsham's current rate of growth: the completion of both an inner and outer town bypass has seen the town's expansion continue apace. Many of the town's residents are campaigning to retain the 'strategic housing gap' between Horsham and big boy next door Crawley. District Council plans, including the placement of a large development right next to Crawley, could see them with a fight on their hands.
But it's no wonder Horsham residents want to keep their town exclusive. The benefits of living in Horsham are numerous. From the long life expectancy (women in the most well-off parts of Horsham can expect to clock at least 84 years) to lower than average levels of cancer, to lower levels of binge drinking and smoking, and just 0.9 per cent of the population currently claiming job seeker's allowance.
There's good news for the ladies too - Horsham is one of the few places in the country where women take home more gross pay on average than fellas, at a weekly average of £444, compared to £440 for the lads.
If you're a family looking to spend that hard-earned dough on education, Horsham has a number of independent schools, including Farlington School for Girls, where 100 per cent of the students gain places at the university of their first or second choice, and Christ's Hospital charitable boarding school, which saw 99.9 per cent pass rates at A-level this year. Local state schools also consistently out-perform the national average.
While higher than typical national prices hover just shy of £290,000 for an average property, Horsham's housing still isn't too outrageously priced - even though the transport links are good, a combination which is a rarity for home-counties commuter towns.
<< Go back to the index to learn about more places in the top and bottom 20
Have your say and see what other people are saying about Horsham and the other 433 UK boroughs >>
Find out which borough made it to number 8 this year >>
Local area info on Horsham from upmystreet.com >>
Horsham District Council >>
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