London leavers: 20 most popular home county hotspots for people quitting capital

More than 420,000 people quit London in a year, according to the latest figures, many of them in search of a better life.

The boroughs seeing the highest numbers of people departing the capital were Newham, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Ealing and Southwark.

But where are all these London leavers going?

Beaconsfield town centre in Buckinghamshire

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In the home counties, Buckinghamshire saw the most new arrivals from the city in the year to June 2025, at 11,414, according to a detailed analysis of the data from the Office for National Statistics.

Some families and other movers will have been attracted by the array of historic, county, market and other towns that the county boasts with fast access to beautiful, rolling countryside.

They include Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Amersham, Marlow, Chesham and Princes Risborough, nestling near the Chiltern Hills and not far from the Prime Minister’s country residence of Chequers.

David Cameron leaves The Plough pub in Princes Risborough with China's President Xi Jinping on October 22, 2015

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Such opportunities were dramatically opened up by the shift to working from home sparked by the Covid pandemic and which continues despite a shift back to the office for some employees.

One downside, though, for those still working in the capital, is often a longer commute.

As some Londoners head west, a large number are moving east.

The Thurrock local authority area in Essex saw the second highest number of London leavers, 6,725, who are going to the home counties.

Thousands of Londoners are moving to Thurrock, which includes Tilbury Port

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Some of them will have been attracted by the job opportunities in the town of Grays and other areas along the north bank of The Thames including Tilbury Port.

In third place was the Epping Forest district, at 6,216, then Dartford 6,184, followed by Medway in Kent 5,811.

Basildon was in 10th place, luring 4,699 Londoners, and Chelmsford 16th with 3,900.

Most popular home counties destinations for London leavers

Number moving from London in year to June 2025

1: Buckinghamshire 11,414

2: Thurrock 6,725

3: Epping Forest 6,216

4: Dartford 6,184

5: Medway 5,811

6: Slough 5,741

7: Elmbridge 5,675

8: Spelthorne 4,993

9: Hertsmere 4,809

10: Basildon 4,699

11: Reigate and Banstead 4,598

12: Broxbourne 4,414

13: Watford 4,155

14: Sevenoaks 4,041

15: Canterbury 3,917

16: Chelmsford 3,900

17: Guildford 3,898

18: Reading 3,689

19: Windsor and Maidenhead 3,564

20: Epsom and Ewell 3,544

In seventh place, with 5,675 capital leavers, was the affluent Surrey borough of Elmbridge, which includes Esher, Cobham and Walton-on-Thames.

Hugging London, in the same county, are both Spelthorne where Shepperton Studios are located and which was in 8th place, with a outflow from the city of 4,993, and Epsom and Ewell, 20th with 3,544.

Looking north of London, Hertsmere, in 9th place, attracted 4,809 newcomers from the city, including film lovers who will now have on their doorstep Elstree Film Studios, the birthplace of Star Wars and home to Strictly Come Dancing, Sherlock Holmes and The Kings Speech.

The 160 acres of Aldenham Country Park also offers parkland, farmland and lakeside walks which are difficult to find in the capital.

Staying north, Broxbourne, in Hertfordshire, was in 12th place, with 4,414 Londoners heading there and Watford 13th, with 4,155.

Canterbury Cathedral

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In the south and straddling the M25, the borough of Reigate and Banstead has good access to the Surrey Hills and is in 11th place, with 4,598 Londoners choosing to relocate there.

Moving around the M25 anti-clockwise takes you to the hilly town of Sevenoaks, in Kent, standing at a height of over 600 feet, and in 14th with 4,041 London leavers.

The historic city of Canterbury, further out east in Kent, was the destination for 3,917 people moving out of the capital, placing it in 15th position.

Guildford, which boasts two cathedrals yet remains the county town of Surrey rather than a city, is in 17th place, on 3,898.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, home to Windsor Castle, enticed 3,564 people from the city to find a new home there, putting it 19th.