London commuter townsSouthend-on-Sea
Essex · commuter town data · September 2026Living in Southend-on-Sea: London commute, house prices & costs
Southend-on-Sea is a commuter town in Essex, around 55 minutes from London by direct train from Southend Victoria (longer than average for the towns we track), with below-average prices at £317,250. It ranks #69 of 118 on Rightroute's balanced commuter score (September 2026 data).
57
Rightroute score
Lower half · #69 of 118
Southend-on-Sea at a glance
Commute and cost
55 min
Train to London
From Southend Victoria, 25% slower than the 118-town median.
£4,402
Annual season ticket
About £367 a month, 13% cheaper than the 118-town median.
£317k
Average house price
£317,250, 22% below the 118-town median.
£1,116
Average rent
A two-bed in Southend-on-Sea, per month, 14% below the 118-town median.
Living there
Low
Safety
Crime index 84 on a 0–100 scale (lower is safer).
990Mb
Broadband
Average available download speed, 10% above the 118-town median.
7.4
Life satisfaction
ONS Personal Well-being mean score, 0–10 (higher is better).
What’s nearby
21
Historic landmarks
Nationally protected buildings, monuments and gardens within 3 miles, 43% fewer than the 118-town median.
270
Hectares of parks and fields
Public parks and playing fields within 3 miles, 14% more than the 118-town median.
525
Places to eat and drink
Restaurants, cafes and pubs within 3 miles, 232% more than the 118-town median.
The commute from Southend-on-Sea
Direct trains from Southend Victoria take around 55 minutes into Liverpool Street, running on Greater Anglia. That makes it #86 out of 118 towns for speed into London.
An annual season ticket costs about £4,402, roughly £367 a month or £22,010 over five years. That's 13% cheaper than the 118-town median of £5,041.
How Southend-on-Sea compares to the other 117 towns
| Metric | Southend-on-Sea | Median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train to London | 55 min | 44 min | #86 |
| Annual season ticket | £4,402 | £5,041 | #44 |
| Average house price | £317,250 | £409,000 | #20 |
| Price to local earnings | 10.0x | 10.1x | #59 |
| Average rent (2 bed) | £1,116/mo | £1,298/mo | #26 |
| Rent to local earnings | 42% | 39% | #88 |
| Crime index (lower is safer) | 84 | 52.5 | #115 |
| Broadband speed | 990 Mb | 903 Mb | #18 |
| Life satisfaction (0–10) | 7.4 | 7.6 of 116 | #89 |
Overall, Southend-on-Sea ranks #69 of 118 on the balanced Rightroute commuter score. Different priorities give different answers, so you can weight the criteria yourself in the comparison page.
Southend-on-Sea commuter FAQs
How long is the commute from Southend-on-Sea to London?
Direct trains from Southend Victoria take around 55 minutes to Liverpool Street. Southend-on-Sea is served by Greater Anglia.
How much is a season ticket from Southend-on-Sea to London?
An annual season ticket from Southend-on-Sea costs about £4,402, which works out at roughly £367 a month.
What is the average house price in Southend-on-Sea?
The average sold price in Southend-on-Sea is £317,250 (HM Land Registry), which is 22% below the median across the 118 London commuter towns we hold a price for.
Is Southend-on-Sea a safe place to live?
Southend-on-Sea scores 84 on a 0–100 crime index (lower is safer), which is a lower level of safety relative to other London commuter towns.
Is Southend-on-Sea a good commuter town for London?
Southend-on-Sea ranks #69 of 118 London commuter towns on Rightroute's balanced score, which weighs commute time, house prices, season ticket cost, safety and broadband. If your priorities are different, the Rightroute compare view lets you weight the criteria yourself.
Towns near Southend-on-Sea
Compare Southend-on-Sea with a neighbour
Similar house prices to Southend-on-Sea
Shortlisted a few homes in Southend-on-Sea?
Plan your viewing day: save the listings, and Rightroute puts them in the quickest order to visit. Rank them once you have been, and share the list with whoever you are house-hunting with.
House prices are the median of that town's own sales from HM Land Registry Price Paid, August 2025 to July 2026, refreshed monthly; the crime score is the mean monthly count from police.uk over August 2025 to July 2026, placed on a 0 to 100 scale where lower is safer, also refreshed monthly. Rent is the average for a two-bed in the local authority, from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, August 2026, refreshed monthly. Train times are typical off-peak direct rail to the destination city (National Rail) and season tickets the annual fare to the same place. Broadband is the average available download speed from Ofcom Connected Nations; life satisfaction is the ONS Personal Well-being mean for the local authority. Those are reviewed periodically rather than monthly. Heritage sites, green space and places to eat are counted within three miles from Historic England, OS Open Greenspace and the Food Standards Agency, built September 2026, and refreshed annually. Figures are for comparison between townsrather than exact values.