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

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

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