So, which uni city is officially the cheapest for a big night out in 2024?

I’m buying a bottle of vanilla vodka and a train ticket to Stoke-On-Trent

3 months ago

Claudia Cox | News

As students prepare for Freshers’ Week, re-Freshers’ Week, or to turn up to Freshers’ Week club nights in attempt to hook up with them, we examine which uni city has the cheapest night out in 2024.

According to NatWest’s research, the average cost of a night out for a UK uni student is £44. Students in 2024 spent 34 per cent more each month on going out than they did last year – thanks for that, cost-of-living-crisis. UK students spent way more on alcohol than last year, too. The average uni student spends £54.33 each month on booze.

Plenty of cities with Russell Group unis are really expensive to go out in. Glasgow and Manchester are two of the most expensive nights out in the country – going on a bender in those cities costs £57 and £56 respectively. Guess you’d better start saving up now for Freshers’ Week. The spenniest city for a night out in Salford. Going out there could set you back £60.

The most cost effective city for a student night out is Stoke-On-Trent. Is it too late for me to befriend someone at Staffordshire University so I can go clubbing for a bargain £24? That’s practically the cost of one gin lemonade in London.

Here is how much UK uni students spend on average on a night out in each city in 2024, ranked from most expensive to cheapest.

32. Salford – £60

31. Glasgow – £57

30. Manchester – £56

29. Belfast – £55

28. Liverpool – £54

=26. London – £52

Offer to buy a round of drinks in London and you may have to sell your kidney
(Credit: Katy Lawrence)

=26. Edinburgh – £52

25. Ormskirk – £51

22. Cardiff – £45

21. Bristol – £44

=19. Oxford – £43

=19. Londonderry – £43

18. Nottingham – £42

=15. Lancaster – £38

=15. Plymouth – £38

=15. Norwich – £38

=12. Bath – £37

=12. Cambridge – £37

Cambridge is one of the cheaper cities for students to go out in. Not that many Cambridge students leave the library long enough to find out.
(Credit: Talia Rubin)

=12. Colchester – £37

=10. York – £36

=10. Birmingham – £36

=7. Sheffield – £35

=7. Bournemouth – £35

=7. Lincoln – £35

6. Derby – £32

=4. Coventry – £31

=4. Portsmouth – £31

3. Dundee – £30

2. Leicester – £28

1. Stoke-On-Trent – £24