Placetrics
Best places for · Students

Best UK cities for students

Cities where a 1-bed room is genuinely affordable, getting around is easy, crime is low, and a strong graduate job market is within reach.

Section 1 / 3

Top 25 cities for students

Score is 0–100, computed by min-max normalising each weighted metric across UK cities. Larger cities (50k+ residents) only — keeps the ranking representative.

  1. 1.
    Wigan
    North West
    82.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £531/mo
    • Rail 1914 m
    • Jobs 0.33
  2. 2.
    Copeland
    North West
    82.3 / 100
    • 1-bed £491/mo
    • Rail 1765 m
    • Jobs 0.48
  3. 3.
    Burnley
    North West
    81.8 / 100
    • 1-bed £460/mo
    • Rail 1363 m
    • Jobs 0.40
  4. 4.
    Bolsover
    East Midlands
    81.7 / 100
    • 1-bed £487/mo
    • Rail 2846 m
    • Jobs 0.41
  5. 5.
    North East Lincolnshire
    Yorkshire and The Humber
    81.5 / 100
    • 1-bed £433/mo
    • Rail 1552 m
    • Jobs 0.43
  6. 6.
    North Lincolnshire
    Yorkshire and The Humber
    81.4 / 100
    • 1-bed £455/mo
    • Rail 2623 m
    • Jobs 0.44
  7. 7.
    Carlisle
    North West
    81.3 / 100
    • 1-bed £491/mo
    • Rail 2352 m
    • Jobs 0.48
  8. 8.
    Stoke-on-Trent
    West Midlands
    81.1 / 100
    • 1-bed £513/mo
    • Rail 2246 m
    • Jobs 0.48
  9. 9.
    Allerdale
    North West
    81.1 / 100
    • 1-bed £491/mo
    • Rail 2995 m
    • Jobs 0.48
  10. 10.
    Redcar and Cleveland
    North East
    81.0 / 100
    • 1-bed £454/mo
    • Rail 1967 m
    • Jobs 0.29
  11. 11.
    Neath Port Talbot
    Wales
    81.0 / 100
    • 1-bed £485/mo
    • Rail 1917 m
    • Jobs 0.34
  12. 12.
    Caerphilly
    Wales
    81.0 / 100
    • 1-bed £544/mo
    • Rail 1350 m
    • Jobs 0.31
  13. 13.
    Rochdale
    North West
    80.9 / 100
    • 1-bed £599/mo
    • Rail 1696 m
    • Jobs 0.39
  14. 14.
    Northumberland
    North East
    80.8 / 100
    • 1-bed £472/mo
    • Rail 2047 m
    • Jobs 0.35
  15. 15.
    Hyndburn
    North West
    80.8 / 100
    • 1-bed £478/mo
    • Rail 1185 m
    • Jobs 0.35
  16. 16.
    Pendle
    North West
    80.8 / 100
    • 1-bed £478/mo
    • Rail 1384 m
    • Jobs 0.31
  17. 17.
    St. Helens
    North West
    80.7 / 100
    • 1-bed £569/mo
    • Rail 1284 m
    • Jobs 0.34
  18. 18.
    Hartlepool
    North East
    80.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £409/mo
    • Rail 1940 m
    • Jobs 0.34
  19. 19.
    Mansfield
    East Midlands
    80.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £536/mo
    • Rail 1837 m
    • Jobs 0.37
  20. 20.
    Bolton
    North West
    80.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £642/mo
    • Rail 1514 m
    • Jobs 0.40
  21. 21.
    Knowsley
    North West
    80.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £565/mo
    • Rail 1000 m
    • Jobs 0.43
  22. 22.
    Wirral
    North West
    80.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £553/mo
    • Rail 1032 m
    • Jobs 0.32
  23. 23.
    Carmarthenshire
    Wales
    80.6 / 100
    • 1-bed £487/mo
    • Rail 2514 m
    • Jobs 0.38
  24. 24.
    Darlington
    North East
    80.5 / 100
    • 1-bed £480/mo
    • Rail 1438 m
    • Jobs 0.51
  25. 25.
    East Riding of Yorkshire
    Yorkshire and The Humber
    80.5 / 100
    • 1-bed £492/mo
    • Rail 2764 m
    • Jobs 0.38
Section 2 / 3

How the ranking works

Each metric is min-max normalised across the peer set, then combined with the weights below. Lower-is-better metrics (rent, crime, distance to GP) are inverted before combining.

  • 1.1-bed rent (steep penalty)
  • 2.Rail access
  • 3.Safety
  • 4.Graduate job density
  • 5.Broadband
  • 6.Greenspace

Source data: ONS PIPR (rent), ONS ASHE (salary), data.police.uk (crime), Ofsted (schools), DfT/NaPTAN (rail), NHS ODS (GP), DEFRA (PM2.5), Ofcom (broadband), ONS access-to-greenspace 2020.

Section 3 / 3

Different life stage?

The ranking changes when the priorities change.

Best for

Young professionals

See ranking →
Best for

Families

See ranking →
Best for

Retirees

See ranking →
Best for

Remote workers

See ranking →