DENBIGHSHIRE was found to be marginally the happiest, but also the most anxious, county along the North Wales coast, according to new data.

The UK’s happiest and unhappiest places to live have been revealed using wellbeing figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS has used the results of a national survey which asked people to rate their level of happiness during the 12 months up to March 2022 to give district and borough council areas an average figure.

People were asked to rate their life satisfaction, feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile, happiness, and anxiety.

The figures, scored out of 10, were as follows (bracketed data shows difference on previous 12-month period):

Life satisfaction

Anglesey: 7.58 (+0.12)

Gwynedd: 7.61 (+0.14)

Conwy: 7.51 (+0.03)

Denbighshire: 7.71 (+0.06)

Feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile

Anglesey: 7.74 (-0.09)

Gwynedd: 7.80 (+0.07)

Conwy: 7.82 (+0.12)

Denbighshire: 7.95 (-0.02)

Happiness

Anglesey: 7.56 (+0.06)

Gwynedd: 7.57 (+0.08)

Conwy: 7.61 (+0.16)

Denbighshire: 7.67 (+0.14)

Anxiety

Anglesey: 2.92 (-0.54)

Gwynedd: 3.14 (-0.30)

Conwy: 3.11 (+0.09)

Denbighshire: 3.19 (+0.15)

Reacting to these figures, Rhun ap Iorwerth, MS for Ynys Môn, said: “The figure that stands out is the increase in anxiety levels during the height of the COVID pandemic.

“It’s good to see those anxiety levels dropping again, but it really is valuable to be able to measure these ‘feelings’ and we should certainly be wary of any drops in feelings of life being ‘worthwhile’.

“When people face the kind of challenges we currently have, it has a real impact on people’s lives and wellbeing.”

Virginia Crosbie, Ynys Môn MP, added: “The people of Anglesey are, in general, happy, but like everywhere, there are challenges and fears, and this ONS survey bears that out.

“I am pleased the research has found North Wales is broadly the same as the rest of the UK.

“Living in such a beautiful place certainly helps, but it cannot take away every stress. One way to help is to raise living standards through investment and better paid jobs.

“Happiness is not all to do with this but it helps and that remains my mission. Investment in nuclear, green technologies and a freeport would make a difference.”

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Janet Finch-Saunders, MS for Aberconwy, said: “Great care must be taken when interpreting the data.

“For example, it would be unwise to generalise that life satisfaction is slightly higher in Anglesey, Gwynedd, and Denbighshire, than Conwy.

“Everyone has their own story, and there will be residents satisfied and dissatisfied in each community, let alone local authority area.

“My priority and passion is to support the residents and businesses of Aberconwy. As I hope to have proven, I do use the levers at my disposal to help where possible.”

David Jones, Clwyd West MP, added: “The figures show that, in general, people in North Wales are reasonably satisfied with life, feel that life, on the whole, is worthwhile, are reasonably happy and are reasonably free from anxiety.

“They are not ecstatically happy, nor are they completely free from worry; but no-one ever is.

“The findings are what might be expected in a modern Western country; but in one sense, they are remarkable in that there has been no appreciable recent change, despite the impact of COVID, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and the consequent rise in inflation.

“The North Wales figures are also broadly in line with, or even slightly better than, those for the UK as a whole.

“In summary, the statistics indicate that North Walians are, in general, resilient people with a positive outlook on life - which must be welcome.”

Gareth Davies, MS for Vale of Clwyd, added: “While I’m pleased to see the ONS figures steadily increasing over the years for people's life satisfaction, worthwhile, and happiness in Denbighshire, we cannot forget the impact that recent events such as financial pressures and the COVID-19 pandemic have had on people's lives as it creates unprecedented situations.

"So, it's imperative that we don't take our foot off the gas and continue to do all we can as public servants to increase the life prospects of our local people so they can feel satisfied and content in the area they live in.

"I believe a key element to life satisfaction are having good training and sustainable employment opportunities for local people, so they don't feel the need to move out of the area to pursue better paid opportunities.

"We are improving in this sense gradually, but there is always more we can do, and if we can achieve happiness in life for people of all ages, we'll be going a long way in ensuring the long-term health of our people in Denbighshire."