London commuter townsHemel Hempstead vs St Albans

Hemel Hempstead vs St Albans: which commuter town suits you?

St Albans is 7 minutes closer to London, but Hemel Hempstead is £177k cheaper on the average sold price.
Hemel Hempstead

#18 of 118

St Albans

#23 of 118

Train to London

27 min
20 min

Annual season ticket

£3,298
£2,939

Average house price

£408k
£585k

Price to local earnings

Years of the local authority's median wage

10.8x
13.9x

Average rent (2 bed)

£1,378/mo
£1,633/mo

Rent to local earnings

Share of the local authority's median wage

44%
47%

Crime index

0–100, lower is safer

53
61

Broadband

Average available download speed, from Ofcom

874 Mb
1005 Mb

Life satisfaction

ONS, 0–10

7.6
8.0

Historic landmarks

Protected sites within 3 miles

39
46

Parks and fields

Hectares within 3 miles

306 ha
323 ha

Places to eat and drink

Restaurants, cafes and pubs within 3 miles

201
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 Hemel Hempstead

Hertfordshire · 27 min to London · average sold price £408k.

Read the Hemel Hempstead report

Living in St Albans

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

Read the St Albans report

Deciding between Hemel Hempstead and St Albans?

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