Essex is one of the best counties for London commuter hotspots, with Hertfordshire and Kent following close behind, according to research from TotallyMoney.com.

The credit broker analysed London commuter hotspots by looking at average house price, length of commute time into London by train, the cost of an annual season ticket, and the town’s life satisfaction score.

The only way is Essex

Purfleet, close to Lakeside Shopping Centre, came top of the list, with Essex towns Laindon and Grays ranking sixth, and eighth respectively.

All three have journey times into London of less than 40 minutes and reasonably priced season tickets, both factors contributing considerably to their top rankings.

Pitsea and Harlow ranked 13th and 19th to bring the total for Essex towns in the top 20 to five.

Hertfordshire towns Waltham Cross and Cheshunt took second and third place, with journey times into London of less than 30 minutes and season ticket costs of £1,968 and £2,220.

But Hertfordshire fell short of being awarded the title of the top performing county, as 2017 hotspot runner-up Bushey dropped to 15th place.

Commuters priced out

Virginia Water in Surrey was the worst performing town as a London commuter hotspot.

Despite life satisfaction scoring well, the average house price in the desirable location is an eye-watering £1,408,785, making the town an out-of-reach commuter hotspot for many.

Oxford takes second-from-last place, with an average house price of just over half a million pounds, a journey time into London of nearly an hour, and season tickets costing almost £6,000.

TotallyMoney head of brand and communications Joe Gardiner, said: “Like so many life decisions, finding your perfect home is about balancing what’s important to you. While house prices have a massive impact on where people buy, it’s not the only influencing factor.”