Best UK areas to open post office
146 local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real commercial rent, local wages, business rates and market density.
Which UK areas are best for opening a post office in 2026?
The best UK area to open a post office is North Norfolk (East), with a Gera Business Location Score of 69.4/100: premises at £48/m²/yr and local median pay of £26,296. Cambridge ranks lowest at 10.7/100. Ranked across 146 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for post office
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Norfolk | East | 69.4/100 | £48 | £26,296 | £2,074 |
| 2 | Gwynedd | Wales | 68.5/100 | £42 | £25,217 | £1,814 |
| 3 | North Devon | South West | 67.3/100 | £47 | £27,526 | £2,030 |
| 4 | Powys | Wales | 65.7/100 | £55 | £26,839 | £2,376 |
| 5 | Conwy | Wales | 65.6/100 | £57 | £26,961 | £2,462 |
| 6 | Herefordshire, County of | West Midlands | 65.3/100 | £52 | £28,366 | £2,246 |
| 7 | Thanet | South East | 65/100 | £45 | £27,076 | £1,944 |
| 8 | Kirklees | Yorkshire and The Humber | 64.7/100 | £44 | £28,821 | £1,901 |
| 9 | North East Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 64.5/100 | £56 | £26,631 | £2,419 |
| 10 | Walsall | West Midlands | 64.2/100 | £38 | £28,691 | £1,642 |
Filter by your budget
Set a premises size and monthly budget to shortlist the areas that fit.
Budget covers estimated annual rent (VOA rateable value × floor area) plus the 2026-27 small-business rates bill (43.2p multiplier), spread over 12 months. Real reliefs (e.g. Small Business Rate Relief) can reduce the rates portion further.
Best areas to open a post office within £2,000/month
- 1North NorfolkEastGBLS 69.4≈ £458/mo
- 2GwyneddWalesGBLS 68.5≈ £401/mo
- 3North DevonSouth WestGBLS 67.3≈ £449/mo
- 4PowysWalesGBLS 65.7≈ £525/mo
- 5ConwyWalesGBLS 65.6≈ £544/mo
- 6Herefordshire, County ofWest MidlandsGBLS 65.3≈ £496/mo
- 7ThanetSouth EastGBLS 65≈ £430/mo
- 8KirkleesYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 64.7≈ £420/mo
- 9North East LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 64.5≈ £535/mo
- 10WalsallWest MidlandsGBLS 64.2≈ £363/mo
- 11East SuffolkEastGBLS 64.2≈ £382/mo
- 12WealdenSouth EastGBLS 63.9≈ £535/mo
- 13Forest of DeanSouth WestGBLS 63.3≈ £525/mo
- 14Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr TudfulWalesGBLS 63.3≈ £439/mo
- 15BassetlawEast MidlandsGBLS 63≈ £544/mo
Post office by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a post office in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 146 ranked areas is £38/m²/yr in Walsall. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, North Norfolk ranks #1 at 69.4/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for post office premises in North Norfolk?
- In North Norfolk, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £48 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £4,800/yr rent, plus roughly £2,074/yr business rates at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p) — before any Small Business Rate Relief.
- What data is this based on?
- VOA Non-Domestic Rating Business Floorspace (rateable value per m², 31 March 2025), ONS UK Business Counts 2025 (market density), ONS ASHE 2025 (local wages) and ONS mid-2024 population — all Open Government Licence v3.0, joined on the ONS local-authority code.
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Contains public sector information published by Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: VOA Business Floorspace + ONS Business Counts + ONS ASHE (work geography) + ONS population estimates (2025 (VOA 31 March 2025; ASHE 2025 provisional; Business Counts 2025; population mid-2024), published December 2025).