Lancaster has been named as England’s best place for working mums in 2025, according to research by CoworkingCafe.
The organisation analysed more than 80 English cities and towns and women’s employment, income, childcare availability and hourly fees, school access and performance, healthcare, air quality, green space, and housing affordability within them.
In Lancaster, families benefit from 36.5 schools per 10,000 children, affordable childcare at £5.20 per hour, and the second-cleanest air in the country. Additionally, 77.3% of women in Lancaster are employed, and the average working week is 29.2 hours, to help with work-life balance.
Cheltenham ranked second, with 81.8% of women in work and one job available per resident. Childcare access is strong, at roughly two children per place and 35.6 schools per 10,000 children.
Newcastle-under-Lyme took third place, with childcare among the cheapest nationally at £5.00 per hour, and availability at 2.3 children per place. It has many public green spaces and 92.6% of addresses have private outdoor space.
Winchester tops women’s employment at 89.2%, and job density at 1.30 jobs per resident, while Exeter leads for school density at 39.2 per 10,000 children and has the cleanest air.
St. Albans has the highest median annual income for women at £42,197 per year, Rotherham has the lowest childcare cost at £4.50 per hour, and Brighton and Hove and Wokingham have the best childcare availability at 1.5 children per place.
The top places in England where working mums can find support are Winchester, Chichester and Oxford, which offer reliable access to jobs, and childcare and healthcare support services.
Meanwhile, the top places in England where working mums can budget better are Stafford, Preston and Sunderland, where lower childcare fees and housing costs are balanced by women’s median pay.
A CoworkingCafe spokesperson said: “This analysis evaluates more than 80 local authority areas across England to identify the best places for working mothers. The ranking combines indicators across four categories of work, education, health and environment, and affordability, each drawing on official statistics from [the Office for National Statistics] ONS, the Department for Education, NHS England, Ofsted and other government sources.”
