Data collected by Kings's College Covid-19 Symptom tracker app suggests the Bedfordshire town has seen an "increased prevalence" of the virus since last week.
According to the researchers' "watch list", over seven days 0.2 per cent Luton's population were suffering from coronavirus symptoms — compared to 0.33 per cent in Blackburn with Darwen, which is subject to local lockdown measures.
Prof Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College who is leading the app’s research, told the Standard the rising number of cases in Luton was a “cause for concern due to its proximity to London”.
He said: “Cases rising in Luton is a cause for concern due its proximity to London and the airport, which is currently still flying to many mainland European countries struggling with rising Covid cases.
“The commuter links into London pose a threat by creating the opportunity for the virus to spread. We advise those in Luton to be sensible and take extra precautions and consider limiting non-essential travel around the city at this time until the situation is clarified with local testing."
It comes after the Mayor of Luton stepped down after breaking lockdown rules to attend a large gathering.
Councillor Tahir Malik has said there is “no excuse” for his actions after footage emerged of his visit to an outdoor gathering with more than 12 people on 21 July.
Guidelines in place at the time stated that people in England could only meet with other households outdoors with a maximum of six people.
He has said: “I hope this serves as a reminder of the importance of following the Covid-19 guidelines as it remains a real, serious threat."
The King’s College app was launched in partnership with health science company Zoe in March, and has since been used by almost four million people in the UK for logging suspected symptoms.
Its founders were among the first to highlight loss of taste and smell as a symptom of Covid-19, which the NHS later added to its list of coronavirus indicators.
Over the past month the app has accurately predicted some of the British regions becoming local virus hotspots, including areas around Greater Manchester, Calderdale and Kirklees - areas that have since been placed under regional restrictions by the government.
Data from the app released on Thursday, based on 12,092 swab tests completed in the two weeks to August 1, and app users' reports, places Blackburn with Darwen as the main area of concern.
Halton in the North West also highlighted as a region with rising numbers of new Covid cases, with 0.27 per cent of the population experiencing symptoms.
The app states that its published “watch list” aims to “highlight key areas of concern” and ideally prompt increased testing in included regions.
Prof Spector said in a statement that the app team “are really pleased to see that our watch list is accurately identifying the areas of concern”, writing: “We created it so that the government can do targeted testing and use solid data to lead decisions about local lockdowns and extra precautions.
“The public can freely access all our data on our website which we update on a daily basis.
“We urge people to continue logging in the app and encourage others as it’s their data that allows us to find out about the situation in their local area. We want to avoid another nationwide lockdown, so obtaining good local data is crucial."
A Luton Borough Council spokesperson said the town had seen a "rise" in cases last month, but that incidence rates have now "reduced significantly" and are being monitored regularly.
He said: "Luton council, partner agencies and residents have been working hard to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases in the town following a rise last month. These measures have so far been successful and the incidence rate for the town has reduced significantly.
"As such, Luton is no longer ‘an area of intervention’ on the government’s national list. The situation is being monitored regularly and we are urging all residents and visitors to adhere to central and local government coronavirus guidelines."
The data was published as it emerged Lancaster could be the latest region to see lockdown restrictions imposed, after the town’s coronavirus cases doubled in a week.
Preston is expected to join Greater Manchester and other nearby regions in having tough new rules introduced, with Lancashire’s director of public health telling the BBC he expected new measures expected to be enforced “in the next few days”.