Commuting doesn’t have to be that bad. Okay, having to get up early and pack yourself into a crowded train in the morning isn’t ideal, but often you can get a two bed house with a garden just outside the city for the same price as a studio flat in the centre. A pretty good trade, if you ask us – but it’s a better deal in some places than others.
There are hundreds of commuter towns across the country, but where is the best place to settle? According to research from mortgage lenders Pepper Money, north is the way to go. It assessed nearly 70 different towns on key criteria in order to judge how attractive they are to commuters, and found that of its top 10 ranking spots, six were in northern England. The remaining three were in Wales and the Midlands.
But how did Pepper Money come up with this list? Well, it assessed each town on housing affordability, average commuting time, rail cost, median salary, and gave them each a ‘quality of life’ rating from 1-10. It then did some maths and gave everywhere a score out of 469 – random, we know, but trust the process – which left a definitive winner.
And that winner was… Rotherham, which got a nod as a suburb of Sheffield! With an overall score of 358, Rotherham’s greatest asset is its affordability. A single train ticket into the city comes in at £2.10, and the average rent will set you back only £653. It also received 7.9 on quality of life, so it’s not like you have to compromise on fun to avoid extortionate prices.
In fact, Sheffield is the place to be for commuters, with the silver going to Dronfield. Whilst the Dron is a bit more expensive – rent is generally more than £1,000 a month – it has a slightly higher median salary and a lovely 10 minute commute into the centre of town.
As Pepper Money explained, Sheffield’s suburbs ‘benefit from fast commute times, reasonable rail fares, and property prices far below the UK average,’ so it’s no wonder they did so well in this study. Dronfield came in at 324/469, only two points above third place.
Beeston, near Nottingham, narrowly fell into the bronze spot despite its brilliant six minute commute. It was just beaten in quality of life, where it scored 7.4 compared to Dronfield’s 7.7. But it seems you just can’t beat Sheffield – so much so that another of its commuter towns, Barnsley, made it into eighth place.
The only place to make the top 10 outside of Nottingham or the north was Penarth outside Cardiff, in fourth with a score of 317. Once again, there were only a few points between it and Beeston, but at 12 minutes its commute was nearly double the length which likely lost it some edge.
The top 10 commuter towns in England and Wales for 2025
The full top 10 commuter towns in the country, as named by Pepper Money, was as follows:
- Rotherham, Sheffield
- Dronfield, Sheffield
- Beeston, Nottingham
- Penarth, Cardiff
- Pudsey, Leeds
- Stalybridge, Manchester
- Long Eaton, Nottingham
- Barnsley, Sheffield
- Widnes, Liverpool
- Ilkeston, Nottingham
If you want to read more about each of these spots, have a look at Pepper Money’s full report.
The best commuter towns for London
Most major cities have a few notable towns commuters live in, but London is surrounded by them. Given how expensive the capital is these days, thousands of people have flocked to the home counties seeking bigger homes and pints under £8. According to Pepper Money’s study, Woking is the best mix between value for money, access to the city, and local amenities, with St Albans trailing closely behind.
Most of the lowest ranked towns, including Luton, Maidstone, Guildford, and Reading were also outside of London, so clearly commuting into the capital isn’t always a great idea. Luton, occupying the bottom spot, had a score of only 114 out of 469. Sorry Luton, your rent is just too high to justify a 40 minute daily commute.
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