Watch out, these are the 20 UK uni cities where rent is the most expensive for students

Studying at a UK uni is hugely expensive – you’ll likely be paying off that student loan for decades. If you pick a uni in particular cities, you could end up even more broke. Here’s a guide to which UK uni cities are the most expensive for students to rent accommodation in during 2026. Some cities have become way more expensive than you’d guess.

Unsurprisingly, the most expensive UK city for students to rent in is still London in 2026. The six spenniest places are all different areas of the capital. Students who don’t live with their families in London often spend more on rent than the maximum maintenance loan. But plenty of other iconic student cities are almost as spenny as London. Student accommodation in Bristol, Glasgow and Guildford now costs more than £300 per week on average. Yikes.

This data comes from the accommodation site Student Crowd. The average weekly rents for each place take into account the different types of accomm in that area.

I split up the London unis based on the postcode of the main campus, but students often end up living across London (or even commuting there).

So, here are the 20 most expensive uni cities for students to rent accommodation in for 2026, plus a list of which universities are actually there:

20. Liverpool – £234 per week

University of Liverpool; Liverpool Hope University; Liverpool John Moores University

19. Bath – £235 per week

University of Bath; Bath Spa University

18. York – £237 per week

York Uni students, and their very inventive sticky note artwork

University of York; York St John University

17. Leeds – £249 per week

University of Leeds; Leeds Arts University; Leeds Beckett University; Leeds Trinity University

16. Cambridge – £252 per week

Anglia Ruskin University; University of Cambridge

15. Durham – £262 per week

Durham University

14. Southampton – £268 per week

University of Southampton; Southampton Solent University

13. Brighton – £276 per week

University of Brighton; University of Sussex

12. Manchester – £279 per week

University of Manchester; Manchester Metropolitan University; University of Salford

11. Edinburgh – £281 per week

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Edinburgh students who are brave enough to live in Pollock accomm

University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh Napier University; Heriot-Watt University

10. St Andrews – £296 per week

University of St Andrews

9. Guildford – £306 per week

University of Surrey

8. Glasgow – £309 per week

University of Glasgow; Glasgow Caledonian University; University of Strathclyde

7. Bristol – £332 per week

University of Bristol; UWE Bristol (University of the West of England)

Bristol’s lovely-looking Wills hall

6. West London – £370 per week

Birkbeck, University of London; Kingston University; University of West London (UWL)

5. South East London – £409 per week

Goldmiths, University of London; University of Greenwich; London South Bank University; Ravensbourne University London

4. South West London – £418 per week

Imperial College London; University of Roehampton, London

3. North London – £438

City St George’s, University of London; London Metropolitan University; Middlesex University;

2. Central London – £460 per week

University of the Arts London (UAL); Birkbeck, University of London; Kings’ College London (KCL), London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), SOAS University of London; University College London (UCL), University of Westminster

1. East London – £520 per week

University of East London; Northeastern University London; Queen Mary University of London

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