Horsham has been named among the UK’s best places to live for 2027.

The West Sussex market town was included in Muddy Stilettos’ list of the UK’s Top 260 Best Places to Live, published in October.

Published annually, the guide picks out the best places to live in each county and looks at what they offer, from schools, commuting and house prices to where to eat, shop and spend a weekend.

Horsham is one of eight places in Sussex to make the list, alongside Battle, Fittleworth, Kingston near Lewes, Lindfield, St Leonards-on-Sea, Wadhurst and West Wittering.

Why Horsham made the list

“In a county whose towns and cities boast coastlines, cathedrals and bohemian pasts, it’s easy to overlook Horsham,” the guide says.

“That would be a mistake.”

It calls Horsham a “handsome, well-connected West Sussex market town” that “has quietly become one of the area’s most popular places to call home”.

Tile-hung cottages and lamp posts along the Causeway in Horsham, with tall bare trees and a white gabled building at the end of the street
The Causeway, Horsham. Photo: Poliphilo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

“Café culture is alive and well in Horsham,” the guide adds, pointing to Cafe No 4 on the Market Square and Johansson’s Café, a “fika-fix” a five-minute stroll away.

It names indie boutiques Doodie Stark, La Vida Boutique and Cuckoo, alongside Gwyn’s bakery and Crates, a café and deli.

The Horsham 10K, organised by the Horsham Joggers, is “just one example of the community spirit that sets Horsham apart from other towns with large commuter populations”, according to the guide.

A red-brick and stone barn with green windows beside a curving path across the grass at Chesworth Farm, Horsham
Chesworth Farm, Horsham. Photo: James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

Chesworth Farm “has meadows and riverside paths for walks, runs and family bike rides”, the guide says, while Warnham Local Nature Reserve is “a 92-acre site that’s walkable from the town centre”.

The Capitol, the town’s Art Deco theatre and cinema, has been closed for what the guide calls “a major glow-up”, and reopens on 29 November with the panto.

The town’s famous names include Percy Bysshe Shelley, born at Field Place just outside Horsham in 1792, and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, who “grew up here”, it says.

How much it costs to live in Horsham

Horsham’s average house price “sat at around £420,000 last year”, according to the guide, though most of the homes sold were flats.

For a semi-detached house, it says, “plan on spending around £465,000”, while detached homes are “edging towards £700,000”.

The Land Registry’s latest figures put the average house price in Horsham district at £436,940.

The fastest trains to London Victoria take 55 minutes, and Thameslink runs direct to London Bridge in about an hour and six minutes.

What do you think makes Horsham a good place to live? Tell us in the comments.