Revealed: The 10 most LGBTQ+ friendly cities for students in the UK right now

As a queer person, it can be a nightmare trying to pick the perfect city to go and study in when you’re off to university. Not only do you want to make sure the course and uni are right for you, but you kind of have to think about not just what the student culture is like but what the LGBTQ+ scene is like too. Finding the right queer family and good LGBTQ base was super important for me when I was studying. In a new study conducted by University Compare, 40 UK cities were analysed on how they score on six key criteria. These were the size of the local LGBTQ+ population, the incidence rate of recorded LGBTQ+ hate crimes, the inclusivity of local mental health services, the number of residents interested in LGBTQ+ social groups, review data of the city’s LGBTQ+ clubs and bars, and search interest in the city’s annual Pride event. So with all that factored in, here are the 10 most LGBTQ friendly cities for students in the UK.

10. Liverpool

In 10th is Liverpool, my personal favourite because it’s where I studied as an LGBTQ+ person! Despite the fact it’s only 10th on this list, it beat out the 30 below it thanks to its unreal vibes. It finished on 48.44 per cent.

9. Bournemouth

The beach city comes in ninth. It scored highly on nightlife, mental health services and LGBTQ+ population and came out with a total of 48.89 per cent – JUST beating Liverpool to the ninth spot.

8. Bristol

Indie city Bristol comes in at eighth. It scored super high on mental health services offered to LGBTQ+ people in the city, and finished with a total of 48.93 per cent. The bottom three of the top 10 here are all super close in score.

7. Nottingham

In seventh is Notts, ranking highly on the queer nightlife scene and mental health services. Nottingham finished with a final score of 49.62 per cent.

6. Oxford

If you’re clever enough to get into Oxford, you’re in luck: It’s the sixth most friendly out of the cities here for LGBTQ+ people for students to study in. Once again, its biggest scorers were LGBTQ+ nightlife and mental health services, scoring within 90 per cent for both. Oxford came out with 50.59 per cent in total. Live your Saltburn fantasy!

5. Edinburgh

Urgh, love Edinburgh – a gorgeous city to kick off the top five most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in the UK for students right now. Edi has a whopping 90 per cent safety score, and finished with a total of 50.71 per cent.

4. Manchester

My home city! This is where I live post studying, and I love it. Manchester comes in fourth – but does have a worrying 9 per cent score on safety which is the lowest of the top 10. Although, personally, I’ve felt super safe living here on the whole. Overall Manchester finishes on 59.52 per cent. Canal Street is the best gay scene in the UK, hands DOWN.

3. Cambridge

Cambridge beats out Oxford, coming in fourth! It got 100 per cent in the LGBTQ+ social groups criteria – the highest of any other city on this list. Cambridge came out with a total score of 60.57 per cent.

2. Brighton

I’m sure no one’s surprised to see Brighton in the top 10 – it’s the gay capital of the UK with good reason! Home to the iconic Brighton Pride and just full of amazing queer people, it scores high across three categories with 100 per cent in each! It finishes on 67.32 per cent.

1. London

The capital comes in a number one, the most friendly of all cities for LGBTQ+ students in the UK right now. Honestly, I’ not surprised. London has its flaws, but it remains a utopia for self expression and offers literally any queer nightlife you could ever want.

You can see a breakdown of all the data in the graphic below:

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