Slough has been ranked the best place to work in for the third year running thanks to its high satisfaction scores and above average salaries.
The Berkshire town came top in a study that looked at job prospects, salary, job satisfaction and property prices, by recruitment website Glassdoor.
The region retained its position as the best place based on the cost of housing, the ease of finding a job and employee satisfaction.
It scored 4.2 out of 5 in the survey that found workers took home wages of £30,139 - higher than the national average of £28,677.
It recorded a job satisfaction rating of 3.4 and had the highest number of vacancies at 23,387, according to Glassdoor.
Despite Betjeman’s infamous poem urging "Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough, It isn’t fit for humans now," the research found it was better than Cambridge, Reading and Guildford.
The North West featured top in the report, with five cities in the top 25 including Manchester, Preston and Bolton.
Just one Scottish city made the list - Dundee - compared to two in 2018 - Aberdeen and Falkirk.
Cities including Bristol, Aberdeen and Falkirk have dropped off since the last report.
"Our latest report shows that companies are continuing to look outside of the big cities to set up offices and recruit local talent, in part driven by ever improving access, favourable rents and salaries," Amanda Stansell, senior research analyst at Glassdoor said.
"The Golden Triangle between Gloucester, Cambridge and Guildford perfectly encapsulates the balance of open jobs and reasonable cost of living."
"The growth in flexible working also means employees are no longer spending every day, 9-5, in the office, meaning the location of the company is less important than it once was.
"Companies can get away with not having offices in the larger, expensive cities - like London - as employees are prioritising flexibility and convenience over the prestige of an office address."
Towns like Slough and Reading, and cities like Cambridge and Gloucester offer a good volume of jobs alongside a reasonable cost of living.
This allows employees and job seekers the chance to secure a job at a high-profile company, while living in an area where housing is relatively affordable.
Major companies in the top five towns and cities include O2 in Slough, AstraZeneca in Cambridge, St James' Place in Gloucester, BAE Systems in Guildford and Microsoft in Reading.
Slough
Glassdoor Town & City Score: 4.2
Job Openings: 23,387
Median Base Salary: £30,139
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4
Median Home Value: £396,258
Hot Jobs: Javascript Engineer, Site Manager, Business Analyst
Cambridge
Glassdoor Town & City Score: 4.1
Job Openings: 18,514
Median Base Salary: £31,941
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7
Median Home Value: £471,259
Hot Jobs: Data Scientist, Solution Architect, Product Assistant
Gloucester
Glassdoor Town & City Score: 4.1
Job Openings: 15,287
Median Base Salary: £25,116
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5
Median Home Value: £246,575
Hot Jobs: Developer, Reporting Analyst, Transport Planner
Guildford
Glassdoor Town & City Score: 4.0
Job Openings: 23,609
Median Base Salary: £29,917
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.6
Median Home Value: £574,820
Hot Jobs: Support Analyst, Area Manager, Operations Manager
Reading
Glassdoor Town & City Score: 4.0
Job Openings: 20,823
Median Base Salary: £32,939
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.6
Median Home Value: £428,591
Hot Jobs: Scientist, Facilities Administrator, Recruitment Manager
Top 25 cities to work in
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Slough
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Cambridge
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Gloucester
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Guildford
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Reading
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Stoke-on-Trent
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Manchester
-
Blackpool
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Chelmsford
-
Oxford
-
Darlington
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Swindon
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Belfast
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Dundee
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Derby
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Preston
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Blackburn
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Luton
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Southampton
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Bolton
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Nottingham
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Coventry
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Birmingham
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Leeds
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Liverpool
