How is the Commuters Persona Fit score weighted?

For commuters the six sub-scores are weighted: Affordability (rent) 20%, Connectivity (broadband) 20%, Living cost (council tax) 20%, Safety (low crime) 15%, Health (life expectancy) 15%, Schools (Ofsted Good+) 10%. Each sub-score is a min-max-normalised 0–100 value over real government data; the weighted average is the Gera Persona Fit. Full method at /methodology/gera-persona-fit.

Which area is best for commuters right now?

Bracknell Forest (South East) ranks #1 with 72.9/100, followed by Southend-on-Sea (69.1) and Milton Keynes (68.2). Recomputed quarterly from the source datasets.

Best places to live in England for commuters

Persona weighting: Affordability (rent) 20%, Connectivity (broadband) 20%, Living cost (council tax) 20%, Safety (low crime) 15%, Health (life expectancy) 15%, Schools (Ofsted Good+) 10%.

Updated quarterly · last recomputed 2026-06-19 from the latest government data releases.

What is the best place to live in England for commuters?

As of 2026-06-19, the best England local authority for commuters is Bracknell Forest, scoring 72.9/100 on the Gera Persona Fit index — a persona-weighted composite of rent, crime, Ofsted schools, broadband, life expectancy and council tax across 286 English local authorities, joined from seven government open datasets. GeraRent recomputes it quarterly.

Gera Persona Fit: Bracknell Forest 72.9/100How this is computed

Top 50 areas for commuters

#	Area	Region	Persona Fit	GLS
1	Bracknell Forest	South East	72.9	76.0
2	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	69.1	69.7
3	Milton Keynes	South East	68.2	70.1
4	Fareham	South East	67.9	69.5
5	Ipswich	East of England	67.8	68.5
6	Peterborough	East of England	67.5	67.4
7	Braintree	East of England	67.2	68.0
8	Epsom and Ewell	South East	67.1	69.3
9	Maldon	East of England	66.3	67.7
10	Erewash	East Midlands	66.2	66.2
11	Rushmoor	South East	66.2	67.4
12	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	66.1	67.8
13	Uttlesford	East of England	65.9	68.2
14	Gosport	South East	65.8	66.6
15	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	65.8	66.2
16	Luton	East of England	65.6	66.5
17	West Oxfordshire	South East	65.6	67.5
18	Worthing	South East	65.4	66.3
19	Brentwood	East of England	65.2	67.0
20	West Berkshire	South East	64.9	67.5
21	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	64.9	66.0
22	Derby	East Midlands	64.8	64.3
23	Swindon	South West	64.7	64.6
24	Slough	South East	64.6	66.8
25	Wokingham	South East	64.4	67.4
26	East Suffolk	East of England	64.2	65.8
27	Huntingdonshire	East of England	64.2	66.2
28	Rochford	East of England	64.1	66.1
29	Cambridge	East of England	64.0	65.8
30	Adur	South East	63.6	65.4
31	Chelmsford	East of England	63.5	65.5
32	South Kesteven	East Midlands	63.5	64.4
33	Torbay	South West	63.5	64.8
34	Three Rivers	East of England	63.4	65.4
35	Medway	South East	63.3	65.2
36	St Albans	East of England	63.3	65.8
37	Amber Valley	East Midlands	63.2	63.7
38	Havant	South East	63.2	64.9
39	North Somerset	South West	63.2	65.8
40	Portsmouth	South East	63.2	64.5
41	Tewkesbury	South West	63.2	64.0
42	Solihull	West Midlands	63.1	63.7
43	Southampton	South East	63.1	62.9
44	Thurrock	East of England	63.1	62.8
45	Babergh	East of England	62.9	65.4
46	Cheltenham	South West	62.9	63.3
47	Reading	South East	62.9	65.0
48	Broxtowe	East Midlands	62.8	63.5
49	Norwich	East of England	62.8	64.0
50	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	62.7	65.1

By region

Commuters in East Midlands Commuters in East of England Commuters in London Commuters in North East Commuters in North West Commuters in South East Commuters in South West Commuters in West Midlands Commuters in Yorkshire and The Humber

Adjust the weights to your own priorities

Set how much each factor matters to you (0 = ignore, 10 = top priority). The ranking updates instantly against your weights.

Affordability (rent)4Safety (low crime)3Schools (Ofsted Good+)2Connectivity (broadband)4Health (life expectancy)3Living cost (council tax)4Limit to region (optional)

Your top areas in England

1Bracknell ForestSouth East72.9
2Southend-on-SeaEast of England69.1
3Milton KeynesSouth East68.2
4FarehamSouth East67.9
5IpswichEast of England67.8
6PeterboroughEast of England67.5
7BraintreeEast of England67.2
8Epsom and EwellSouth East67.1
9MaldonEast of England66.3
10ErewashEast Midlands66.2
11RushmoorSouth East66.2
12East CambridgeshireEast of England66.1
13UttlesfordEast of England65.9
14GosportSouth East65.8
15Oadby and WigstonEast Midlands65.8
16LutonEast of England65.6
17West OxfordshireSouth East65.6
18WorthingSouth East65.4
19BrentwoodEast of England65.2
20West BerkshireSouth East64.9
21Windsor and MaidenheadSouth East64.9
22DerbyEast Midlands64.8
23SwindonSouth West64.7
24SloughSouth East64.6
25WokinghamSouth East64.4

Score = your weights applied to each area’s real, normalised sub-scores. The underlying figures come from seven UK government open datasets — see the methodology.

Found your area? Find a home there.

Browse verified rental listings on GeraRent and set an alert for new homes that match your budget.

Search rentals on GeraRent

Sources (all Open Government Licence v3.0):

ONS — Price Index of Private Rents — as of May 2026.
HM Land Registry — UK House Price Index — as of April 2026.
MHCLG — Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England — as of 2026-27.
Ofcom — Connected Nations (Gera Broadband Index) — as of July 2024.
ONS — Life expectancy by local authority — as of 2017-19.
Ofsted — State-funded school inspection outcomes — as of 31 May 2026.
Home Office — Police recorded crime (PFA) + ONS population — as of Year ending December 2025.

Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright. Recorded-crime figures are neutral official statistics shown as context only and must not be used to characterise an area or its residents.