As cost of living continues to soar, working professionals are now setting their eyes beyond city centres in a bid to find affordable housing. These professionals choose commuter towns not just for housing, but also an improved quality of life, and a manageable daily commute.
The professionals often make the choice to move to these commuter towns due to factors like reasonable rail fares and accessible transport links, property prices, and growing economies. Mortgage lenders Pepper Money have compiled a list of this year’s best commuter towns and one Welsh town has made it in the top 10.
The town of Penarth that is just a few miles away from the Welsh capital, Cardiff is the only Welsh town to feature in the list with a score of 317 out of 469.
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Apart from its location, Penarth offers a number of restaurants and activities to enjoy -Credit:WalesOnline/Rob Browne
Rotherham, close to the city of Sheffield has topped the list with an overall score of 358. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here
Here is a list of top commuter towns across the UK and their nearby cities in 2025:
Penarth also featured as the commuter town with highest life satisfaction, and a high quality of life score of 8.2 in Pepper Money’s list.
With a commute time of 13 minutes, rail cost of £3.80 and rental prices of around £1,408, scenic mid-sized towns like Penarth appear as an attractive option to growing families and remote first professionals.
However, that’s not all Penarth has to offer.
With its Victorian architecture, magnificent pier and parks sweeping to the sea, Penarth is an ideal place for tourists and residents alike.
The seaside town offers several places to eat and drink, consisting of tea shops to lively bars and restaurants along with activities for all ages and tastes.
Pubs like The Pilot offer plenty of opportunities to drink and eat to your heart’s content while the dessert shops like The Crepe Escape offer healthy crepes with salad, as well as the monster milk shakes covered in sweets that it’s known for.
The town also boasts its very own gin bar, Gin 64 that offers a myriad of Gins, while The Railway promises to be the best place for a lively night.
As Penarth is a seaside town, no visit would be complete without a walk along its pier and esplanade.
You can also make your way to the cliff tops for the Wales Coast Path, which runs through Penarth and stroll through the woods to Lavernock Point.
Whether it be its numerous restaurants, or its stony beach, the seaside town has a lot to offer, making it an ideal choice for someone who wants to be close enough to Cardiff, but far away from the city rush.