Cost of living in UK student cities

When you're choosing where to study, the cost of living is one of the factors that’s likely to influence your decision between the courses and universities you've shortlisted.

This can vary from location to location. And although it can be tricky to find living costs for every student city in the UK, there are a few resources you can use to find a uni that suits your lifestyle and budget.

Comparing the cost of living in popular cities

Once you've shortlisted your universities, the following sites will help you understand your university living costs at each if you choose to study there.

Review sites

Sites like the Student Room can give you a glimpse into how students feel about their living costs. This way, you’ll get real opinions from people who feel strongly enough to comment, but remember you might be getting individual stories that don’t apply to your situation.

Natwest Student Living Index

If you prefer stats and data, you can use the Natwest Student Living Index. This is an annual report on how affordable cities are for students. In 2022, Natwest asked almost 3,000 students in 21 of the UK’s university cities about their income, and what they spend it on.

Dividing a city’s average student spending by average student income gives you that city’s Student Living Index - a number that indicates how affordable it is to live there. In 2022’s report, Edinburgh comes in most expensive, at 1.02, with cities like Coventry and Sheffield having an Index of about half that.

Sadly, the 2022 report is missing several university cities - including us - but it’s still a useful guide to what students around the UK are spending their money on, where they’re finding their income, and how they feel about their finances.

The key things to take from the 2022 report are:

Biggest expenses

Your biggest expenses are likely to be in supermarkets, accommodation and bills. Numbeo (below) is a good source of data on these expenditures.

Main sources of income

Natwest data says that main sources of student income are family, student loans and bursaries. Part time work also features. Read more about Portsmouth bursaries, or our advice about working while studying.

Their data also indicates that student incomes have risen faster than costs have over the past year. That sounds like good news for students, but Natwest’s data was collected before the current cost of living crisis, which means managing your living costs is still going to be part of your student life, wherever you study.

Money worries

If you worry about having enough money at the end of term, you’re not alone - the report shows this is something many students around the country worry about. They’re backed up by the recent Student Room survey, which showed 92% of respondents were concerned about cost of living increases.

That means it’s worth looking at support systems in the universities you’re considering, and help beyond that.

Here in Portsmouth, our student finance support team is here to help you avoid money stresses, or to help you navigate your way out of trouble if you find yourself struggling. They’ll give ongoing advice on their social media channels, host events like our Talk Money Week and Student Money Week and offer practical cost of living support including access to our student hardship fund.

Find us on social:

Twitter: @UoP_Money
Instagram: @UoP_Money
Facebook: LoveyourmoneyUoP

Our student union works with us on how best to support you, as well providing its own practical & tangible support, as detailed on the UPSU Cost of Living page. Portsmouth City Council provides cost of living support and advice that you can access too.

Socialising matters again

Natwest's data suggests socialising has returned as a big part of student life. Their report says students like games and Netflix more than the gym, but - whatever you’re into - it’s a good idea to look at what’s available, and what it might cost. See, for example, our nightlife and culture guide, or the university sports centre.

Numbeo

Numbeo breaks down the cost of individual items in all cities across the UK. Its website has loads of data that can look overwhelming, but it's a great way to compare the cost of living in popular student cities.

How to use Numbeo

Using the Natwest Student Living Index, we know that students spend most of their budget on:

supermarket shopping
accommodation
household bills

So the best way to use Numbeo is to compare the cost of these top student spends across popular cities, adding in anything particularly important to you (such as gym membership or childcare). This helps you focus on what you need to know from all the data on Numbeo.

Compare the cost of living in Portsmouth with other popular cities

To help you compare the cost of living in popular student cities, here's the Numbeo data for Portsmouth compared to London, Manchester, Bath, Southampton and Brighton. *All Numbeo figures below correct as of date of publish on 14 March 2022.

As the capital city of the UK, London isn't going to be the cheapest student city to move to. However, the maximum maintenance loan you can receive for being an undergraduate in London is higher than it is if you move to a uni outside London, and it's a popular choice for students.

If you compare Portsmouth with London, you'll find that:

Milk, rice, eggs, chicken and alcohol from a supermarket are all cheaper in Portsmouth, although fresh vegetables and fruit are cheaper in supermarkets in London
Rent in Portsmouth is 59% lower than in London
Your basic household bills will be less than half the cost in Portsmouth than they would be in London
A 3-course meal for 2 in a mid-range restaurant is 29% cheaper in Portsmouth and a regular cappuccino is 14% cheaper
Branded clothing is more expensive to buy in-store in London than it is in Portsmouth

Manchester is a growing student city and sits around the average affordability on the 2022 Natwest report. Numbeo reports that you need about £275 more per year to live in Manchester at the same standard of living you'd get in Portsmouth.

Looking at the top spends for students in Numbeo when comparing Portsmouth and Manchester, you'll find that:

Milk, rice, eggs, chicken and alcohol from a supermarket are all cheaper in Portsmouth
Rent is lower for city centre apartments in Portsmouth
Your basic household bills will be around 44% cheaper in Portsmouth than they would be in Manchester
A 3-course meal for 2 in a mid-range restaurant is 17% cheaper in Portsmouth and a regular cappuccino is 9% cheaper
Clothing in high street stores is also cheaper in Portsmouth

Bath is a popular university city and high in league tables. According to Numbeo, you'd need almost £1,000 more a year to live to the same standards you would in Portsmouth.

When you look at the top spends for students in Numbeo, comparing Portsmouth and Bath, you'll find that:

Milk, bread, eggs, cheese and most alcohol from a supermarket are all cheaper in Portsmouth
Your household bills will be about half the cost in Portsmouth than they would be in Bath and city centre rent is around 40% cheaper in Portsmouth
A 3-course meal for 2 in a mid-range restaurant is 30% cheaper in Portsmouth and a regular cappuccino is 1% cheaper
Clothing in high street stores is cheaper in Portsmouth

If you're looking to study on the South Coast, Southampton could be another option for you. When you look at the top spends for students in Numbeo, comparing Portsmouth and Southampton, you'll find that:

Supermarket prices are mixed - milk is cheaper in Portsmouth, but bread is cheaper in Southampton, for example.
A 3-course meal for 2 in a mid-range restaurant is 9% cheaper in Portsmouth, but a regular cappuccino is 3% dearer
Your basic household bills will be around 54% cheaper in Portsmouth than they would be in Southampton, and city centre rent is between 1 and 9% cheaper, depending on the size of the apartment
Clothing in high street stores and branded clothing is all cheaper to buy in Portsmouth

Brighton is also a popular university city on the South Coast. When you look at the top spends for students in Numbeo, comparing Portsmouth and Brighton, you'll find that:

Milk, bread, rice, eggs and meat from a supermarket are all cheaper in Portsmouth
A 3-course meal for 2 in a mid-range restaurant is 17% cheaper in Portsmouth, and a cappuccino is 3% cheaper
Your household bills will be around 42% cheaper in Portsmouth than they would be in Brighton, and city centre rent is between 37-40% cheaper
Branded clothing and high street clothes shopping is cheaper in Portsmouth

Final tips

When researching universities, it's important to consider factors other than the most affordable city. You'll also want to consider things like:

student support services
transport links home
work experience and placement opportunities
career prospects

After all, if you see that one city costs £100 a year more than another, that’s less than £2 a week. It’s perfectly possible there’s something in the pricier city that’s worth £2 a week to you, and the city with slightly higher student living costs is the one you should choose.