People living in the South West countryside are more pleased with their lives than those residing in the city or London, according to new research.
The Office for National Statistics asked 160,000 people to rate their satisfaction with life, feeling that their life is worthwhile, how happy they felt yesterday and how anxious they felt yesterday on a scale of one to ten.
Rural dwellers in the region scored themselves higher on all four benchmarks compared to those in urban areas in the greater South West. And regardless of whether someone lived in the South West town or country, life is better in the west compared to the capital.
The "life satisfaction" score of a person living in a rural area of the South West is 0.15 points higher than the rating of the person living in London. Only rural dwellers in the East Midlands were more pleased with life in the whole of the UK.
The results are part of the happiness survey, which was launched by David Cameron to assess the state of the nation beyond economic factors.
The research underlines why people are flocking to the Westcountry to work and retire, which is having positive knock-on effects for the economy but is putting pressure on public services and fuelling the over-heated housing market.
The ONS said in its report: "Generally across regions, people living in rural areas give higher ratings for their well-being than those living in urban areas."
The statisticians benchmarked the ten regions of the UK against London and found of the South West:
Life satisfaction: rural – 0.15 points higher than person living in London; urban – 0.04 points higher.
Feeling that their life is worthwhile: rural – 0.18 points higher; urban – 0.09 points higher.
How happy they felt yesterday: rural – 0.1 points higher; urban – 0.04 points higher.
How anxious they felt yesterday: rural – 0.24 points less anxious; urban – 0.29 points less anxious.
The ONS also found people who are married or in a civil partnership have a higher sense of well-being than cohabiting couples or those who are single or widowed.
It also said that living alone has a negative impact on happiness, whether someone is in a relationship or not.
The analysis of the annual population survey data found that those living with at least one other person recorded higher scores for feelings that their lives are worthwhile and they were satisfied with their life.
Single people rated their happiness on average 0.4 of a point lower than those who are either married or in a civil partnership. The scores were even lower for those who are widowed, who rated their happiness 0.6 of a point lower.
Anxiety is also higher for single, widowed or divorced people, being between 0.1 and 0.2 of a point above their counterparts who are in a civil partnership or married.
The factor most likely to have an impact on well-being was how healthy people consider themselves to be, with employment status and relationship status following behind, said the ONS.
An ONS spokesman said: "Gaining an understanding of what influences personal well-being is an important aspect of national well-being, but is only part of a broader picture that draws on a range of economic, social and environmental statistics to show how the country is doing."
