London commuter townsHarpenden vs St Albans

Harpenden vs St Albans: which commuter town suits you?

St Albans is 8 minutes closer to London and £210k cheaper on the average sold price.
Harpenden

#65 of 118

St Albans

#23 of 118

Train to London

28 min
20 min

Annual season ticket

£3,576
£2,939

Average house price

£794k
£585k

Price to local earnings

Years of the local authority's median wage

18.9x
13.9x

Crime index

0–100, lower is safer

32
61

Broadband

Average available download speed, from Ofcom

1005 Mb
1005 Mb

Life satisfaction

ONS, 0–10

8.0
8.0

Historic landmarks

Protected sites within 3 miles

23
46

Parks and fields

Hectares within 3 miles

167 ha
323 ha

Places to eat and drink

Restaurants, cafes and pubs within 3 miles

111
263

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 Harpenden

Hertfordshire · 28 min to London · average sold price £794k.

Read the Harpenden report

Living in St Albans

Hertfordshire · 20 min to London · average sold price £585k.

Read the St Albans report