Students know London is the most expensive city in the UK to live in, but may be unaware of the huge differences between off-campus housing costs in other university towns and cities.
- The price difference between renting near the most and least expensive top-50 ranked non-London universities - Surrey and Huddersfield - is £12,595 over a three-year degree course.
- University of Sheffield is a top-12 university which also has 'cheap' rents, costing on average £19,196 to rent a room including bills over three years.
- Huddersfield (£484 per month), Bradford (£494 per month) and Hull (£506 per month) are the cheapest top-50-ranked university cities for rent. All have average room rents well below the UK average of £761 per month.
- Based on the average inner London room rent, students will spend £35,246 on rent over a three-year degree. But it's possible to spend less than £20K on rent and bills in 10 top university cities.
Students collecting their A-level results on 13 August should have more than just grades on their minds - the average student debt in England is now £47,9001. But rent data from flatshare site SpareRoom could help students living off campus to work out where to study if they want to keep costs down.
Huddersfield is the cheapest top-50-ranked university area for rent. Students will pay, on average, £484 per month to rent a room including bills, or £5,813 per year. This is £3,324 per year less than the average UK room rent, currently £761 per month.
Those students looking to secure a place at a top-20-ranked university could consider Sheffield, which sits twelfth in the league table. The city's average monthly room rent is £533, or £19,196 over a three-year degree.
London is, of course, the most expensive city to live in and students planning to attend one of the capital's top universities may also need to factor travel costs into their budgets. The average London room rent is now £979 per month, according to SpareRoom's latest rental index, with the cheapest rents to be found in the east-London postcode area (£933 per month).
The price difference between renting close to the most and least expensive top-50 ranked universities outside of London - Surrey and Huddersfield - is £12,595 over a three-year degree course.
The cheapest top-20-ranked university cities for rent after Sheffield (£533 per month) are Liverpool (£556), Leeds (£572), Nottingham (£584) and Newcastle (£594). The cheapest rents in the top-50 ranked university cities and towns are Huddersfield (£484 per month), Bradford (£494 per month) and Hull (£506 per month).
Outside London, the most expensive top-20-ranked university cities to rent in are Edinburgh (£834), Oxford (£814), Cambridge (£796), York (£744) and Bristol (£730).
The table shows the top-50-ranked UK universities alongside their average monthly room rents, based on Q2 2026 data.
| UK Rank 2026 | University | Area average rent is based on | Average monthly room rent | Rent per year | Total rent 3-year degree | Total rent 4-year degree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | University of Huddersfield | Huddersfield | £484 | £5,813 | £17,438 | £23,250 |
| 50 | University of Bradford | Bradford | £494 | £5,928 | £17,784 | £23,712 |
| 50 | University of Hull | Hull | £506 | £6,076 | £18,227 | £24,302 |
| 27 | University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen | £530 | £6,358 | £19,075 | £25,434 |
| 21 | University of St Andrews | Dundee | £532 | £6,390 | £19,169 | £25,558 |
| 34 | University of Dundee | Dundee | £532 | £6,390 | £19,169 | £25,558 |
| 34 | Swansea University | Swansea | £532 | £6,390 | £19,169 | £25,559 |
| 12 | University of Sheffield | Sheffield | £533 | £6,399 | £19,196 | £25,595 |
| 50 | Keele University | Newcastle-Under-Lyme | £535 | £6,420 | £19,260 | £25,680 |
| 50 | Bangor University | Bangor, Wales | £551 | £6,612 | £19,836 | £26,448 |
| 17 | University of Liverpool | Liverpool | £556 | £6,670 | £20,009 | £26,678 |
| 50 | Liverpool John Moores University | Liverpool | £556 | £6,670 | £20,009 | £26,678 |
| 25 | University of Leicester | Leicester | £561 | £6,738 | £20,213 | £26,951 |
| 13 | University of Leeds | Leeds | £572 | £6,867 | £20,600 | £27,466 |
| 34 | Loughborough University | Loughborough | £575 | £6,903 | £20,709 | £27,612 |
| 24 | Lancaster University | Lancaster | £582 | £6,983 | £20,949 | £27,932 |
| 19 | University of Nottingham | Nottingham | £584 | £7,008 | £21,024 | £28,032 |
| 50 | University of Plymouth | Plymouth | £589 | £7,066 | £21,198 | £28,264 |
| 18 | Newcastle University | Newcastle | £594 | £7,133 | £21,398 | £28,531 |
| 41 | Northumbria University | Newcastle | £594 | £7,133 | £21,398 | £28,531 |
| 41 | University of Kent | Canterbury | £600 | £7,200 | £21,599 | £28,798 |
| 26 | Queen's University Belfast | Belfast | £600 | £7,200 | £21,601 | £28,801 |
| 11 | University of Birmingham | Birmingham | £612 | £7,342 | £22,025 | £29,366 |
| 41 | Aston University | Birmingham | £612 | £7,342 | £22,025 | £29,366 |
| 32 | University of East Anglia | Norwich | £619 | £7,425 | £22,274 | £29,698 |
| 34 | University of Essex | Colchester | £634 | £7,611 | £22,832 | £30,443 |
| 14 | University of Warwick | Warwick | £639 | £7,668 | £23,005 | £30,674 |
| 50 | University of Stirling* | Stirling | £640 | £7,674 | £23,023 | £30,698 |
| 41 | University of Portsmouth | Portsmouth | £646 | £7,756 | £23,267 | £31,023 |
| 27 | Cardiff University | Cardiff | £647 | £7,765 | £23,296 | £31,062 |
| 23 | Durham University | Durham | £648 | £7,775 | £23,324 | £31,099 |
| 15 | University of Southampton | Southampton | £662 | £7,946 | £23,838 | £31,784 |
| 41 | Bournemouth University | Bournemouth | £670 | £8,040 | £24,121 | £32,162 |
| 22 | University of Exeter | Exeter | £672 | £8,063 | £24,189 | £32,252 |
| 10 | University of Glasgow | Glasgow | £676 | £8,109 | £24,327 | £32,436 |
| 40 | University of Strathclyde | Glasgow | £676 | £8,109 | £24,327 | £32,436 |
| 8 | University of Manchester | Manchester | £680 | £8,158 | £24,474 | £32,632 |
| 27 | University of Reading | Reading | £711 | £8,538 | £25,613 | £34,151 |
| 9 | University of Bristol | Bristol | £730 | £8,763 | £26,288 | £35,051 |
| 27 | University of Sussex | Brighton & Hove | £742 | £8,903 | £26,709 | £35,612 |
| 20 | University of York | York | £744 | £8,929 | £26,786 | £35,714 |
| 41 | Royal Holloway, University of London | Egham | £767 | £9,204 | £27,612 | £36,816 |
| 41 | Brunel University of London | Uxbridge | £786 | £9,430 | £28,289 | £37,719 |
| 2 | University of Cambridge | Cambridge | £796 | £9,548 | £28,644 | £38,192 |
| 1 | University of Oxford | Oxford | £814 | £9,762 | £29,287 | £39,049 |
| 32 | University of Bath | Bath | £817 | £9,807 | £29,421 | £39,228 |
| 5 | University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh | £834 | £10,003 | £30,009 | £40,012 |
| 41 | Heriot-Watt University | Edinburgh | £834 | £10,003 | £30,009 | £40,012 |
| 27 | University of Surrey | Guildford | £834 | £10,011 | £30,033 | £40,044 |
| 34 | City St George's, University of London | N London postcode area | £937 | £11,248 | £33,744 | £44,992 |
| 50 | Goldsmiths, University of London | SE London postcode area | £961 | £11,537 | £34,611 | £46,148 |
| 50 | Middlesex University | NW London postcode area | £977 | £11,720 | £35,159 | £46,879 |
| 50 | Royal Veterinary College | NW London postcode area | £977 | £11,720 | £35,159 | £46,879 |
| 4 | UCL | Inner London | £979 | £11,749 | £35,246 | £46,995 |
| 6 | King's College London | Inner London | £979 | £11,749 | £35,246 | £46,995 |
| 7 | London School of Economics & Political Science | Inner London | £979 | £11,749 | £35,246 | £46,995 |
| 16 | Queen Mary University of London | Inner London | £979 | £11,749 | £35,246 | £46,995 |
| 34 | Birkbeck, University of London | Inner London | £979 | £11,749 | £35,246 | £46,995 |
| 41 | SOAS University of London | Inner London | £979 | £11,749 | £35,246 | £46,995 |
| 3 | Imperial College London | SW London postcode area | £1,039 | £12,463 | £37,389 | £49,852 |
*Small sample size
Matt Hutchinson, director of flatshare site SpareRoom, comments: “Students going through the clearing process in August need to consider the huge variation between the cost of renting in different parts of the UK. Although maintenance loans will usually cover rent, where you choose to study can drastically affect the debt students end up with after they graduate and enter the workplace.
“Competition for private rentals is high. Students may find they're battling for flatshares with a growing number of young and middle-aged workers who've been priced out of renting solo or buying. Plus, rental supply is now in decline, and when supply falls, rent rises tend to follow, so students should budget for rents rising during their degree course.
“It's worth getting clued up about new rules as students renting privately in England now benefit from greater protections under the Renters' Rights Act which came into effect in May.”