SOUTHAMPTON is the third best place to earn a living in the UK, new research has revealed.

A study compiled by TotallyMoney found that the city was one of the best places to get a wage, falling just behind Crawley and Derby.

It shows that Southampton's employment rate is 76 per cent and that the median monthly take-home salary £579.

The research also found that the city was the 10th best for cost of living, has an average monthly mortgage repayment of £1,236 and 35th ranked for employment and business.

The research considers median monthly take-home salary, average monthly mortgage repayment, cost of living, unemployment levels, and job growth to rank 59 locations in order, from best place to earn a living to worst.

Other nearby places to be placed included Portsmouth (26), Bournemouth (29) and Aldershot (32).

Norwich, Basildon, and Swansea take positions 50, 54, and 59 respectively. All three towns have some of the lowest salaries, with high monthly mortgage costs doing little to balance this out.

London takes the top spot for take-home salary, more expensive house prices and a higher cost of living means it only ranks 39th among the locations overall.

TotallyMoney head of brand and 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.

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