Leicester ranked as a top three city for student living

Leicester has been named one of the best cities to study in by the annual Student Living Index, ranking third in the UK after Manchester and Cambridge.

Its Student Living Index sits at just 0.60, compared to 0.75 across the country as a whole, making the city a top destination for students, offering the third best value for money. More than 2,800 students were polled in June and the results were revealed today.

Compiled by NatWest, the Student Living Index (SLI) is based on the ratio between average monthly living and accommodation costs and average monthly income. Birmingham’s SLI is calculated at 0.70, Nottingham’s is 0.80 and London lands at the bottom of the chart with an SLI of 1.05.

Mia Nembhard, University of Leicester Students’ Union President, said: “University has a huge financial access issue and students rarely have all costs around their course budgeted for. It’s great that those everyday things aren’t as likely to price-out students if they’re in Leicester.”

With the third lowest average rent in the UK, Leicester remains an attractive prospect for students. At the University of Leicester, students opting to stay in halls of residence can benefit from even more cost effective and flexible accommodation packages through ignite, the University’s new dual learning programme, which offers bookable accommodation at £25 a night or £140 per week.

Students can also make the most of their student loan in Leicester. In response to the question, ‘How much does your student loan contribute to your income each month?’, the city has the third highest percentage after Cambridge and York, indicating how little students need to rely on additional sources of income.

Although Leicester students are ranked fourth for their average monthly spend on going out after London, Sheffield and Liverpool, they have the lowest monthly spend on alcohol, at £18. The below-average cost of a student pint in Leicester is £3.40, against a national average of £3.60.

The low cost of living also means that Leicester students have the third lowest monthly spend on groceries, beaten only by Belfast and Birmingham.