London commuter townsChatham vs Southend-on-Sea

Chatham vs Southend-on-Sea: which commuter town suits you?

Chatham is 15 minutes closer to London and £32k cheaper on the average sold price.
Chatham

#22 of 118

Southend-on-Sea

#69 of 118

Train to London

40 min
55 min

Annual season ticket

£5,106
£4,402

Average house price

£285k
£317k

Price to local earnings

Years of the local authority's median wage

7.7x
10.0x

Average rent (2 bed)

£1,137/mo
£1,116/mo

Rent to local earnings

Share of the local authority's median wage

37%
42%

Crime index

0–100, lower is safer

79
84

Broadband

Average available download speed, from Ofcom

976 Mb
990 Mb

Life satisfaction

ONS, 0–10

7.3
7.4

Historic landmarks

Protected sites within 3 miles

179
21

Parks and fields

Hectares within 3 miles

637 ha
270 ha

Places to eat and drink

Restaurants, cafes and pubs within 3 miles

311
525

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 Chatham

Kent · 40 min to London · average sold price £285k.

Read the Chatham report

Living in Southend-on-Sea

Essex · 55 min to London · average sold price £317k.

Read the Southend-on-Sea report

Deciding between Chatham and Southend-on-Sea?

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