Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire, England. It is situated at the south eastern edge of the Peak District, and is twinned with the French town Eaubonne. The former spa resort Matlock Bath lies immediately south of the town on the A6. Matlock, as a town, has a population of 10,689. The wider population of the Matlock urban area is approximately 20,000 (including Darley Dale and Matlock Bath). Often, the Matlock area is considered to include Wirksworth, due to the close proximity of the two towns. This would bring the area's population closer to 30,000.

Matlock is nine miles (14 km) south west of Chesterfield, surrounded by the cities of Derby (19 miles), Sheffield (20 miles), Nottingham (29 Miles) and the Greater Manchester conurbation (30 miles). Although officially occupying a central England position geographically, Matlock is in the west of Derbyshire in what is known as the Derbyshire Dales which includes the towns of Wirksworth, Bakewell and Ashbourne. In 2005, the Government paper The Northern Way suggested to include Matlock into a newly formed Sheffield City Region which would ultimately mean the redesign of regional and county councils. However to date there is no set time agenda for this to happen.