Devon tops the ranking, with 1,598 towns and villages, ahead of Somerset and Cornwall. The full ranking is below, each entry linked to its page.

# County Places
1 Devon 1,598
2 Somerset 1,521
3 Cornwall 1,454
4 Kent 1,259
5 North Yorkshire 1,199
6 Shropshire 1,180
7 Highland 1,127
8 Lincolnshire 1,082
9 Cumbria 1,080
10 Norfolk 1,046
11 Hampshire 1,042
12 Gloucestershire 1,038
13 Essex 960
14 Staffordshire 943
15 West Yorkshire 903
16 Suffolk 879
17 Wiltshire 824
18 Dorset 798
19 Derbyshire 771
20 Lancashire 743
21 Cheshire 739
22 Worcestershire 709
23 Herefordshire 675
24 Greater Manchester 655
25 Greater London 646
26 Oxfordshire 618
27 Buckinghamshire 562
28 Hertfordshire 543
29 West Midlands 514
30 South Yorkshire 513
31 Powys 504
32 County Durham 500
33 West Sussex 500
34 Warwickshire 488
35 Surrey 479
36 East Sussex 478
37 Northumberland 477
38 Cambridgeshire 471
39 Aberdeenshire 451
40 Nottinghamshire 435
41 Leicestershire 417
42 Scottish Borders 417
43 Argyll and Bute 391
44 Berkshire 385
45 Northamptonshire 378
46 Pembrokeshire 370
47 East Riding of Yorkshire 350
48 Na h-Eileanan an Iar 337
49 Carmarthenshire 319
50 Gwynedd 316
51 Bedfordshire 309
52 Dumfries and Galloway 292
53 Shetland Islands 281
54 Tyne and Wear 278
55 Perth and Kinross 262
56 Ceredigion 249
57 Fife 248
58 Angus 243
59 Merseyside 225
60 Monmouthshire 214
61 Flintshire 168
62 South Lanarkshire 163
63 Swansea 153
64 Wrexham 153
65 Moray 149
66 North Lanarkshire 148
67 Isle of Wight 146
68 Isle of Anglesey 145
69 Orkney Islands 136
70 Denbighshire 132
71 The Vale of Glamorgan 129
72 Caerphilly 121
73 Conwy 121
74 Rhondda Cynon Taf 121
75 Glasgow City 104
76 Stirling 104
77 North Ayrshire 101
78 City of Edinburgh 94
79 Neath Port Talbot 94
80 East Ayrshire 87
81 Bridgend 85
82 Falkirk 82
83 West Lothian 82
84 South Ayrshire 81
85 East Lothian 76
86 Newport 76
87 Bristol 62
88 Torfaen 61
89 Cardiff 58
90 Rutland 57
91 Aberdeen City 55
92 Midlothian 54
93 Blaenau Gwent 51
94 Renfrewshire 43
95 Merthyr Tydfil 33
96 Inverclyde 31
97 East Renfrewshire 30
98 West Dunbartonshire 30
99 East Dunbartonshire 27
100 Clackmannanshire 22
101 Dundee City 16
102 Isles of Scilly 15

Source: Postcodes UK place data. Compiled by Postcodes UK.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK county has the most towns and villages?

Devon tops the list, with 1,598 towns and villages, followed by Somerset and Cornwall.

How is this ranking measured?

This ranking is based on Postcodes UK place data. It covers the ceremonial counties of England and the council and principal areas of Scotland and Wales.