Find out why Telford is one of the best places to make a living in the Midlands

The town has beat out the likes of Mansfield, Stoke, Coventry and Birmingham to be named the second best place to make a living in the Midlands. It was beaten only by Derby.

Out of 59 locations nationally, Telford was named number 19.

The figures, which come from TotallyMoney, show that the Median monthly take-home salary was £497, with the average monthly mortgage repayment sitting at £845.

Ranked across the same 59 locations, Telford was 44th in the country for cost of living.

The employment rate is 75 per cent, with business closures per 10,000 population sitting at 29.19 per cent. Its employment and business rank was 52 out of 59.

The ranks were based upon an analysis of median take-home salary, average monthly mortgage repayment, cost of living, employment rates and business closures.

The best places were those where cost of living is in line with the salaries paid, and the job market is healthy.

TotallyMoney Head of Brand & 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.

'The future is rosy'

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

Telford Mayor Stephen Reynolds said: "We’ve got the M54, we’ve got the M6 – Telford is just ideal.

"That’s why so many companies are coming to Telford for all kinds of services.

“The only way I see is for Telford to be even more prosperous than it is now. The future is rosy.”

The best place to make a living across the whole country is Crawley, the figures show, followed by Derby, Southampton, Edinburgh and Gloucester.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10, Milton Keynes, Reading, Swindon, Oxford and Slough were also named.

Telford was named better than Birmingham, which was ranked number 45 across the country.

The median monthly take-home salary in the city is £527, average monthly mortgage repayment is £955 and the employment rate is 67 per cent. Business closures sat at 42.91 per cent.

Birmingham was ranked 32nd out of 59 for cost of living and third in the country for employment and business rank.