St Andrews named third best UK city for student living, according to new study
Student life in the UK is as much about where you live as what you study. A city can make or break your university experience, influencing everything from your rent and travel costs to how many gigs or green parks you can escape to after a long day of lectures. But have you ever wondered which UK cities offer the best all-round package for students?
A new study, conducted by the University of Technology Sydney Online, ranked 50 UK cities to reveal the best and worst places to live as a student. Unlike traditional university rankings, this research looked beyond lecture halls and assessed everything that affects student life on a daily basis, from housing and co-working spaces to pub density and gym memberships.
Drawing data from platforms like TripAdvisor, Google Maps, Office for National Statistics (ONS), Numbeo and CoWorker, the cities were scored across four core categories: Social Life (20%), Wellbeing (20%), Study & Work (25%) and Costs (35%). Each of these categories was further broken down into individual metrics, such as number of pubs per 10,000 residents, employment rates, average monthly rent, and even how much you’ll pay for a pint or a McDonald’s meal.
3. Salford – Total Score: 48.36
Salford lands in third place, combining academic strengths with cultural perks. It tops the charts for live music venues (1.19 per 10K people, 3rd highest) and takes the top spot for public libraries, making it ideal for students who balance late-night gigs with early-morning studying. The city is also tied with Brighton for having the cheapest beer in the UK at £4.30.
That said, nightlife isn’t its strongest suit, it ranks 48th for clubs and bars, and safety is middling. Rent is a moderate £900, internet is the cheapest in the UK (£33.55), and gym memberships are average. Foodies may be disappointed, however: Salford ranks last for both grocery affordability and McDonald’s meal prices. Still, its library and music scenes offer great trade-offs.
Meanwhile, Aberystwyth takes the top spot thanks to its low cost of living and rich student lifestyle, while Durham ranks second with unmatched safety and public healthcare. Stirling, in fourth place, impresses with fitness opportunities and green spaces, and Brighton follows closely behind with the best pub density and one of the liveliest music scenes in the country.
York, Sheffield, and Bath offer attractive combinations of culture, academic resources, and strong wellbeing metrics. Manchester, known for its live music and co-working scene, comes in at 9th, while Chester rounds out the top 10, providing a more relaxed experience with great green space and the cheapest transport in the country.
At the other end of the scale, London lands rock bottom at 50th, thanks to its jaw-dropping rent (£2,214), transport (£188) and gym fees (£48.34). Luton (49th) and Plymouth (48th) also struggle, offering poor pub density and sky-high internet and travel costs. Birmingham (47th) and Coventry (46th) rank low for safety and green space.
Sunderland, Nottingham, Middlesbrough and Edinburgh also fall into the bottom 10, each let down by poor employment rates, lack of amenities, or high costs. Surprisingly, Bristol appears at 41st. Often seen as a “cool” student city, its high rent and average scores dragged it down in this data-driven study.
Top 20 list of the best student cities in the UK:
| Rank | Cities | Social | Wellbeing | Study & Work | Costs | Total Score |
| 1 | Aberystwyth | 4 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 52.82 |
| 2 | Durham | 15 | 7 | 2 | 17 | 48.57 |
| 3 | St Andrews | 3 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 48.36 |
| 4 | Stirling | 19 | 8 | 16 | 7 | 45.38 |
| 5 | Brighton | 1 | 39 | 8 | 44 | 44.42 |
| 6 | York | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 44.06 |
| 7 | Salford | 6 | 1 | 26 | 14 | 44.03 |
| 8 | Bath | 9 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 43.24 |
| 9 | Manchester | 2 | 46 | 3 | 38 | 42.97 |
| 10 | Chester | 8 | 17 | 24 | 19 | 42.23 |
| 11 | Southampton | 26 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 41.68 |
| 12 | Carlisle | 38 | 15 | 31 | 2 | 41.65 |
| 13 | Winchester | 24 | 3 | 7 | 40 | 41.22 |
| 14 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 5 | 28 | 30 | 24 | 40.89 |
| 15 | Huddersfield | 34 | 6 | 33 | 13 | 40.05 |
| 16 | Exeter | 13 | 18 | 12 | 34 | 39.96 |
| 17 | Leeds | 12 | 35 | 9 | 33 | 39.39 |
| 18 | Lancaster | 14 | 20 | 37 | 12 | 38.89 |
| 19 | Kingston upon Hull | 32 | 30 | 39 | 1 | 38.87 |
| 20 | Bournemouth | 17 | 29 | 22 | 25 | 38.53 |
Note: Apart from the overall total score, each city's ranking within the four main categories reflects how it compares to the other 49 cities in that specific category. A ranking of 1 means the city performed the best in that area, while a ranking of 50 indicates the lowest performance relative to the rest.