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Where to live by commute
AboutWhere do you travel to?
FiltersBus + MRT, up to 45 min
Census filters
Ordered by commute time only, not advice on where to live. Weekday 09:00 estimates.
Where to live in Singapore by commute time
Add up to three places you travel to, such as work, a partner's work or a school. NAVIG estimates the bus and MRT trip from each of Singapore's 55 planning areas, then shows median rent and price beside it (HDB flats, condos and landed homes), so you can shortlist areas by commute and budget.
Guide
How to choose where to live by commute in Singapore
To choose where to live by commute in Singapore, start with the places you travel to every week, such as work, a partner's work or a school. Rank planning areas by the longest trip to any of them, then compare rent or price and the kinds of homes in each area. Commute is one factor, not the whole answer.
Start from where you go, not where you want to live
Most people begin with a neighbourhood and then check the trip. Doing it the other way round finds areas you might not have considered. Enter your workplace, a partner's workplace or a school, and the tool measures from every planning area at once. An area that is far from the city centre can still be close to a business park, a hospital or a university, and the map shows that directly.
Why the longest trip matters more than the average
With two or three destinations, a low average can hide one very long journey. An area with trips of 10 and 40 minutes has the same total as one with 25 and 25, but the second is easier to live with every day. That is why the default ranking, fairest, sorts by the longest single trip. Shortest total is available when the combined minutes matter more than the split.
Why planning areas are the unit
Singapore has 55 planning areas in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan, grouped into five regions: Central, East, North, North-East and West. They are large enough to have meaningful census and housing figures and small enough to differ in commute. Each one is measured from its middle, so a home near an edge can be quicker or slower than the number shown. The area guides list stations, bus stops and facilities for each one.
Trade the commute against what you can spend
A shorter commute usually costs more, and the map lets you see how much. Switch the map to Rent or Price, choose an HDB flat size, Condo or Landed, and set a budget. The list then keeps areas that are inside your commute limit and under your budget. These are medians of past records, not a valuation of any home. Private price is per square foot, so compare it with a unit's size yourself.
Use it
How to use the commute map
Search for a place you travel to, add up to two more, and the map shades every planning area by the longest trip. Open Filters to set the commute limit, flat type and budget. Tap an area for its trip times, rent, price, census snapshot and a link to plan the real journey.
- Add your destinationsSearch a building, road or postal code, or use your location. Label each one Work, Partner's work, School or your own name. Names you type stay on your device.
- Choose Bus + MRT or Bus onlyBus + MRT is the default. Bus only uses interchanges and bus routes, which can suit a workplace that buses serve better than trains, but it reaches fewer areas.
- Set the limit and budgetDrag the longest commute you would accept, then pick a flat type and a maximum rent or resale price. The count at the top of the list updates as you drag.
- Switch the map layerCommute shows the longest trip. Rent and Price colour areas by the median for the home type you picked, HDB 3, 4 or 5-room, Condo or Landed, and hatched areas have no data for it.
- Open an areaThe card shows minutes to each destination, rent, price, residents and HDB share. Plan commute opens the Bus + MRT planner with that destination filled in, and Share link keeps every setting.
Worked example
Which part of Singapore has the shortest commute to Raffles Place?
Among planning areas with at least 5,000 residents, Rochor has the shortest modelled commute to Raffles Place by MRT and bus, at about 11 minutes on a weekday at 09:00. Outram follows at 14 minutes and Kallang at 19. These are timetable-based estimates, not live times.
| Planning area | Region | Minutes | Residents, 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochor | Central | 11 | 13,120 |
| Outram | Central | 14 | 18,340 |
| Kallang | Central | 19 | 101,300 |
| River Valley | Central | 19 | 10,070 |
| Newton | Central | 22 | 8,260 |
| Bedok | East | 25 | 277,000 |
| Geylang | Central | 25 | 110,120 |
| Marine Parade | Central | 25 | 46,220 |
On buses alone, the nearest bus stop to Raffles Place is OUE Bayfront, a 3 minute walk away. 39 planning areas have a bus-only trip within 90 minutes, and Outram is the shortest of those with 5,000 residents or more, at 18 minutes.
This example is a worked estimate from the same data as the tool, computed when this page loaded. It is not a ranking of where to live. Areas with fewer than 5,000 residents in the 2020 census are left out of the table, and the tool can include them.
Common searches
Commute and rent for popular workplaces
Answers worked out from the same data as the tool when this page loaded. Open any destination in the tool to change the places, the mode or the limit.
Which areas near Raffles Place have the lowest HDB rent?
Among residential areas within 35 minutes of Raffles Place that have HDB rental data, the lowest median 4-room rent is in Hougang at $3,200 a month (34 minutes), then Bedok at $3,380 (25) and Tampines at $3,400 (33). HDB flats only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026.
Try them in the tool: Raffles Place, one-north and Changi Business Park. Each station has its own guide: Raffles Place, one-north and Expo.
Regions
Region by region: commute, rent and price
Singapore's planning areas fall into five regions: Central, East, North, North-East and West. Each table pairs a residential area's modelled trip to Raffles Place with its median 4-room HDB rent and resale price, so you can see what a shorter commute costs. They are medians for HDB flats only and not a valuation.
Central region
The Central region has 14 planning areas with at least 5,000 residents. Modelled trips to Raffles Place run from 11 minutes from Rochor to 37 from Bishan. Bukit Merah has the most residents, 151,250 in 2020. Median 4-room HDB rent runs from $3,500 in Marine Parade to $4,150 in Queenstown.
| Planning area | Minutes | 4-room rent | 4-room resale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochor | 11 | None | None |
| Outram | 14 | None | None |
| Kallang | 19 | $3,800 | $900k |
| River Valley | 19 | None | None |
| Newton | 22 | None | None |
| Geylang | 25 | $3,600 | $740k |
| Marine Parade | 25 | $3,500 | $638k |
| Bukit Merah | 26 | $3,900 | $938k |
| Tanglin | 26 | None | None |
| Novena | 33 | None | None |
| Queenstown | 33 | $4,150 | $1.03m |
| Bukit Timah | 34 | $3,700 | $938k |
| Toa Payoh | 36 | $3,700 | $1m |
| Bishan | 37 | $3,650 | $788k |
East region
The East region has 3 planning areas with at least 5,000 residents. Modelled trips to Raffles Place run from 25 minutes from Bedok to 48 from Pasir Ris. Bedok has the most residents, 277,000 in 2020. Median 4-room HDB rent runs from $3,325 in Pasir Ris to $3,400 in Tampines.
North region
The North region has 3 planning areas with at least 5,000 residents. Modelled trips to Raffles Place run from 45 minutes from Yishun to 71 from Sembawang. Woodlands has the most residents, 255,140 in 2020. Median 4-room HDB rent is $3,100 in all 3 areas with HDB data.
North-East region
The North-East region has 5 planning areas with at least 5,000 residents. Modelled trips to Raffles Place run from 34 minutes from Ang Mo Kio to 45 from Serangoon. Sengkang has the most residents, 249,370 in 2020. Median 4-room HDB rent runs from $3,200 in Hougang to $3,400 in Serangoon.
| Planning area | Minutes | 4-room rent | 4-room resale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio | 34 | $3,400 | $615k |
| Hougang | 34 | $3,200 | $619k |
| Sengkang | 41 | $3,200 | $640k |
| Punggol | 42 | $3,250 | $680k |
| Serangoon | 45 | $3,400 | $654k |
West region
The West region has 6 planning areas with at least 5,000 residents. Modelled trips to Raffles Place run from 34 minutes from Clementi to 58 from Jurong East. Jurong West has the most residents, 262,740 in 2020. Median 4-room HDB rent runs from $3,000 in Bukit Panjang to $4,000 in Clementi.
| Planning area | Minutes | 4-room rent | 4-room resale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clementi | 34 | $4,000 | $800k |
| Bukit Panjang | 44 | $3,000 | $570k |
| Jurong West | 45 | $3,500 | $535k |
| Bukit Batok | 47 | $3,300 | $625k |
| Choa Chu Kang | 48 | $3,100 | $552k |
| Jurong East | 58 | $3,500 | $549k |
Minutes are modelled weekday 09:00 trips by MRT and bus from the middle of each area. Rent covers Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 and resale price Nov 2025 to Oct 2026, from HDB data on data.gov.sg. None means no HDB figure. Areas with fewer than 5,000 residents are left out. Each name links to its area guide.
Method
How the commute estimates work
NAVIG models a weekday trip at 09:00 from the middle of each planning area to each destination. It walks to nearby stations or bus interchanges, rides the network with 6 minutes for each MRT change, then walks to the destination. Nothing is live, so delays, crowding and other hours are not reflected.
- Start near the middle of the areaEach of the 55 planning areas starts from its centre and uses the MRT stations or bus interchanges close by. Walking counts 80 metres a minute over the straight-line distance stretched by 30%.
- Ride the modelled networkRail times come from OneMap routing between neighbouring stations. Bus times come from NAVIG's own model of LTA bus routes, how often each service runs and its first and last bus. A change between MRT lines adds 6 minutes, which is an assumption and not a measured wait.
- Take the better of bus and railBus + MRT picks the faster of an all-bus trip and an all-rail trip, with walking at each end. A bus that feeds an MRT ride is not modelled. Bus only uses bus interchanges and bus routes.
- Rank by the longest tripFairest ranks by the longest single trip, so one long commute counts against an area. Shortest total adds the trips together. The map colour is always the longest trip.
What the estimates leave out
- Weekday 09:00 only. Weekends, evenings and public holidays can differ.
- No live data, so delays, crowding and disruptions are not included.
- Times start at the middle of an area. A home near its edge can be quicker or slower.
- Medians are of past records and are not a valuation of any home. The page recommends no area to buy or rent in.
- Some areas are mostly business, industrial or nature land and have few residents.
Rent and price
Where the rent and resale figures come from
The Rent and Price layers use Housing and Development Board datasets for HDB flats and Urban Redevelopment Authority datasets for condominiums, apartments and landed homes, all under the Singapore Open Data Licence. For each planning area and home type, NAVIG takes the median of every record in the latest 12 months the data holds. They are medians of past records, not valuations.
HDB flats
HDB publishes figures by town, and towns are not planning areas. Where a town and a planning area share a name and an overlapping core, such as Bedok or Tampines, the figures are counted in that area. Kallang/Whampoa is counted in Kallang. The HDB town called Central Area spans several central planning areas, so it is assigned to none of them, and those areas show no HDB data.
Condominiums, apartments and landed homes
URA publishes private home transactions and the rental contracts lodged with IRAS for stamp duty, with one map point per project. NAVIG places each project in the planning area that holds its point. Condo and apartment price is the median transaction price per square foot of floor area. Landed price is per square foot of land. Rent is the median monthly rent of contracts that began in the 12 months.
What blank and hatched areas mean
A hatched area has no figure for the home type you chose. HDB figures need an HDB town, so downtown business districts, industrial areas, nature areas and the islands have none. Any area with fewer than 10 records of a type in the 12 months is also blank. NAVIG leaves these blank and never estimates a value.
What the figures leave out
- HDB rental figures are declared by owners and HDB says they are indicative only.
- A median pools every flat of that type in the area, whatever its age, floor or condition, so one flat can cost far more or less.
- Private rent is the monthly rent of each rental contract whatever its size, so it depends on the mix of units let. Private price is per square foot and pools new sales, sub sales and resales, so a new launch lifts it. Executive condominiums and strata-landed homes are left out.
- URA gives each project one point. A project is counted in the planning area that holds that point, so a project at an edge may sit in the neighbouring area.
- The tool shows the latest period in the legend and the page shows when it was last updated.
Census
What the census snapshot shows
Each area shows 2020 census facts from the Singapore Department of Statistics, accessed through OneMap: how many people live there, the mix of home types, how working residents travel to work and the most common household income band from work. It is a snapshot from 2020. Rent and price come from separate housing data.
- Homes are counted by household. HDB flats are counted once, and the room-size groups are not added on top.
- Getting to work counts bus, MRT or both. The census puts walking in a wider group, so walking is not shown.
- Income is the most common band of household income from work. The top band is open ended, so it is not an average or a median.
- A few areas have no census figures. They show as such and are never filled in.
Examples
Try a commute
Each link fills in the tool with these places. Change them, add a second destination or switch to Bus only.
- Central business districtRaffles Place, Bus + MRT
- one-northThe research and technology district on the Circle line
- Changi Business ParkA business park in the east that depends on buses and Expo station
- Jurong EastThe west regional centre, Bus + MRT
- A couple with two commutesOne works at Raffles Place and the other at one-north
Questions
How does NAVIG work out the commute from each area?
NAVIG measures from the middle of each of Singapore's 55 planning areas to the stations or bus interchanges near it, then rides a modelled network to the stop nearest your destination. The model assumes a weekday departure at 09:00, adds walking at both ends and allows 6 minutes for each MRT change. It uses no live data.
Are these live travel times?
No. Every time is a modelled estimate for a weekday at 09:00. Rail times come from OneMap routing between neighbouring stations. Bus times come from NAVIG's own model of LTA bus routes, frequencies and first and last buses. Delays, disruptions, crowding, weekends and other hours are not included, so check live arrivals before you travel.
What does fairest mean when I add two or three destinations?
Fairest ranks areas by the longest single trip. An area with trips of 25 and 26 minutes ranks above one with 10 and 40, even though the second has the shorter total. Choose Shortest total to rank by the sum of all trips instead. The map colours always show the longest trip.
Does Bus + MRT combine buses and trains in one trip?
Only through walking. The model takes the better of an all-bus trip and an all-rail trip, with a walk to a station or interchange at each end. It does not model a bus ride that feeds an MRT ride, so areas that depend on a feeder bus can look slower. Bus only uses bus routes and interchanges.
What census information does the page show?
For each planning area it shows the 2020 Census of Population from the Singapore Department of Statistics, accessed through OneMap: residents, homes by type, how working residents travel to work, and the most common household income band from work. The census is a 2020 snapshot. Rent and price come from separate housing data.
Why does income show the same band for most areas?
The figure is the most common band of household income from work, not an average or a median. The census puts every household above S$20,000 a month into one open band, and that band is the largest in nearly every area, so it appears often. Treat it as a coarse indicator and not a measure of what residents earn.
Does the page show rent and resale prices?
Yes. The Rent and Price map layers colour each planning area by median monthly rent or median price. Choose HDB 3, 4 or 5-room flats, from HDB data, or Condo and Landed, from URA transaction and rental records. HDB prices are whole resale prices and private prices are per square foot. They are medians, not valuations.
Why do some areas show no rent or price?
Areas with no figure for the home type you chose are hatched and marked as no data. HDB figures need an HDB town, so business, industrial, nature and island areas have none. An area is also left blank when fewer than 10 records exist for that type in the 12 months. NAVIG never fills a gap with a guess.
How do I find areas within a budget and a commute time?
Open Filters, choose a home type, then drag the rent slider or the price slider. The price slider is a resale price for HDB flats and dollars per square foot for condos and landed homes. The list keeps areas inside your commute limit and under your budget, and drops areas with no figure. Budgets are saved in the share link.
What if my workplace is far from an MRT station or bus interchange?
The tool snaps each destination to its nearest station, or to the nearest bus interchange in Bus only mode, and adds the walk. If that walk is 10 minutes or more, the destination shows a warning with the minutes. Places far from the network, such as parts of Tuas, can return no areas at all.
Can I find where to live if my partner works somewhere else?
Yes. Add up to three destinations, such as your work and your partner's work. Fairest ranks areas by the longest single trip, so neither of you is left with a very long commute. Switch to Shortest total if you would rather minimise the combined minutes, and compare both lists.
Is this advice on where to live?
No. Areas are ordered by commute time and filtered by your budget, not ranked by how good they are to live in. Schools, noise, lease length, flat condition and neighbours matter as well and need their own research. Use the page to build a shortlist of areas, then look at real listings and visit.
Sources and updates
Planning area boundaries are the 2019 Master Plan areas from OneMap, Singapore Land Authority, which also supplies place search, MRT routing and census figures. The Census of Population 2020 is published by the Singapore Department of Statistics. Bus routes, stops and timetables come from LTA DataMall. Rent and resale prices come from the Housing and Development Board datasets Renting Out of Flats and Resale flat prices on data.gov.sg, used under the Singapore Open Data Licence. Last updated .
Condo and landed figures contain information from the URA Private Residential Property Transactions and Rental Contracts datasets (URA Data Service API) from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, made available under the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0. The date NAVIG accessed them is in the note under the Filters on the map.
Times are estimates for a weekday at 09:00 and are not live. Rent and price are medians of past records and not a valuation. NAVIG does not list properties or advise where to buy or rent.