Commuting: The costliest UK postcodes for getting to work

East Hertfordshire ranks as the most expensive area for commuters in the UK, according to a new travel-focused survey. Here, commuters in East Hertfordshire pay an average of 141.98p for E10 petrol and travel approximately 14.36km to work. In contrast, Belfast has the least expensive commute, due in part to having the second-lowest priced E10 petrol and the third-lowest priced diesel.

Commuting is getting pricier across the UK, and some areas are feeling financial strain more than others. This research comes from price comparison site WhatPrice.co.uk reveals just how much location can affect your travel costs, with fuel prices, journey lengths, and access to petrol stations all playing a role.

The research analysed commuting expenses across the UK by examining five key factors: E10 petrol prices, B7 diesel prices, average travel distance to work, and the number of fuel stations per 10,000 vehicles. Variations across administrative boundaries was a significant reason for cost variations.

The UK’s 10 most expensive areas for commuting

The data was gathered from multiple sources to compile the index. The raw data for each factor was cleaned, checked, and standardised on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 and 10 represent the worst and best values, to allow accurate comparison between factors. A weighting was assigned to each factor reflecting its importance: Average price of E10 Petrol (30%), Average price of B7 Diesel (30%), Average travel distance to work (20%), Number of stations with E10 per 10,000 petrol vehicles (10%), and Number of stations with B7 per 10,000 diesel vehicles (10%). The total score was calculated by combining these weighted factors, producing an overall index score out of 100 for each area, upon which the final ranking is based.

Outcomes

As indicated above, East Hertfordshire is the area with the priciest commute, with an overall index score of 79.85 out of 100. This ranking is primarily driven by its high fuel prices, with E10 petrol costing 141.98p per litre and diesel at 148.23p. Commuters in the area face an average journey of 14.36km (8.9 miles) to work, around 3km (1.86 miles) above the national average.

West Northamptonshire secured second place with a score of 76.05. E10 petrol costs around 141.02p, and diesel is priced at 148.49p. Despite a slightly shorter average commute of 12.86km (around 8 miles), the area still ranks high due to its steep fuel costs.

Huntingdonshire ranked third with a score of 74.95, where residents face some of the longest commutes at 15.86km (9.85 miles) on average. The combination of lengthy journeys and relatively high fuel prices (139.66p for petrol and 147.10p for diesel) places pressure on local commuters’ budgets.

Maidstone and South Cambridgeshire completed the top five with index scores of 73.96 and 72.95, respectively. Both areas show a similar pattern of high fuel prices and longer commuting distances.

The sixth to tenth positions are occupied by Wiltshire at 71.69 points, Dorset at 71.05 points, Bedford at 70.61 points, Cheshire East at 70.25 points, and Mid Sussex with 70.09 points out of 100.

Nationally, the average price for E10 petrol is 136.32p, the price of diesel is 143.25p, and the average commute is 11.25km (around 7 miles).

Belfast emerged as the least expensive area for commuters with a score of just 20.32. The Northern Irish capital benefits from lower fuel prices, with E10 petrol at 127.90p and diesel at 133.15p, and shorter commuting distances averaging only 6.43km (4 miles). Northern Ireland consistently ranked well for affordability, with all its administrative areas appearing in the bottom 20 of the list, suggesting regional fuel pricing policies may play a role in keeping costs lower for commuters.