South East England is the best place in the UK to earn a living, according to TotallyMoney.com.

The website took into account a range of factors, including median monthly take-home salary, average monthly mortgage repayment, cost of living, unemployment levels, and job growth to rank 59 locations in order, from best place to earn a living to worst.

South East England towns Crawley, Southampton, Reading, Oxford, and Slough dominated the top 10 — taking first, third, seventh, ninth, and tenth respectively.

The research shows that Crawley workers’ salaries are similar to London workers. However, mortgage repayments and living expenses are much lower in Crawley, contributing heavily to its top ranking.

East Midlands town Derby takes second position — the only East Midlands town to feature in the top 10.
South West England also fares well, with Gloucester and Swindon taking fifth and eighth place.

Top 10 hotspots to earn a living

1 Crawley
2 Derby
3 Southampton
4 Edinburgh
5 Gloucester
6 Milton Keynes
7 Reading
8 Swindon
9 Oxford
10 Slough

And the worst places…

The east of England, on the other hand, is one of the worst places to earn a living in the UK, with three towns ranking in the bottom 10.

Norwich, Basildon, and Southend take positions 51, 55, and 59 respectively. All three towns have some of the lowest salaries, with high monthly mortgage costs doing little to balance this out.

TotallyMoney head of brand and content, Joe Gardiner, said: “While many are drawn to bigger cities, such as London and Birmingham, in the hope of earning a decent living, our research shows they may not be the best overall option due to higher-than-average living costs.

“We hope our research will prompt people to consider a wider range of areas when thinking about changing careers or moving home.”

See the full list and check out your town:
View Interactive Version (via TotallyMoney)