London commuter townsBraintree vs Chelmsford

Braintree vs Chelmsford: which commuter town suits you?

Chelmsford is 25 minutes closer to London, but Braintree is £62k cheaper on the average sold price.
Braintree

#73 of 118

Chelmsford

#52 of 118

Train to London

60 min
35 min

Annual season ticket

£5,016
£5,175

Average house price

£334k
£395k

Price to local earnings

Years of the local authority's median wage

8.8x
10.3x

Average rent (2 bed)

£1,099/mo
£1,291/mo

Rent to local earnings

Share of the local authority's median wage

35%
41%

Crime index

0–100, lower is safer

52
71

Broadband

Average available download speed, from Ofcom

898 Mb
914 Mb

Life satisfaction

ONS, 0–10

7.3
7.6

Historic landmarks

Protected sites within 3 miles

42
28

Parks and fields

Hectares within 3 miles

128 ha
486 ha

Places to eat and drink

Restaurants, cafes and pubs within 3 miles

113
328

Estimates only. Prices from HM Land Registry (August 2025 to July 2026), crime from police.uk (August 2025 to July 2026); broadband, life satisfaction and train times from Ofcom, ONS and National Rail, reviewed periodically. A tinted figure is the better of the two on that row alone, not an overall verdict.

The full picture on each

Living in Braintree

Essex · 60 min to London · average sold price £334k.

Read the Braintree report

Living in Chelmsford

Essex · 35 min to London · average sold price £395k.

Read the Chelmsford report

Deciding between Braintree and Chelmsford?

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