Every Hitchinite knows our town is a wonderful place to live - but where does it rank compared to other towns across the country in terms of happiness?

Rightmove's Happy at Home Index analysed how residents feel about their town while asking them to rank ten happiness factors.

Issues included friendliness of neighbours, quality of local amenities, a sense of belonging and civic pride, and the quality of nature.

Hitchin came 12th in the entire country, with only Richmond (second in the table) beating our town when it came to places in London and the south east.

Hexham came top, while Harrogate was third.

"Last year redefined the importance and role of our home and local community in our lives, and this has carried on into this year, even as wider society has started to open up again," said Rightmove's property expert Tim Bannister after analysing the findings.

Hitchin tops the league in the East

Hitchin also came top in the entire East region.

Hertfordshire's second best town was St Albans who came third in the regional table.

Stevenage came 18th, two places above Luton.

The property site also found people living in rural and coastal areas tend to be happier with where they live than those in cities and urban areas.

Home owners vs renters

The index also shared the average price of homes as well as the prices for renting.

Homeowners in Hitchin will be pleased to learn that at £491,223, house prices in our town were the third highest in the top 12, with only Richmond (£1,196,892), Hove (£525,896) and St Ives (£494, 393) eclipsing those here.

However, the flip side of the coin is that renting costs in Hitchin (£1,392) were only higher in Richmond (£3,235) and Hove (£1,879).

Perhaps, the Happiness Index depends on whether you talk to a homeowner or a renter.