The most affordable university cities in the UK

Warwick, Norwich, Swansea, Bath and Keele are the five cheapest UK cities to study in according to new research by the credit report website TotallyMoney.

The free credit report and comparison specialists took the UK’s 50 top universities, according to The Sunday Times Good University Guide, and ranked them in order from most affordable to least.

Unlike some other comparisons of the cost of student cities in the UK, which often focus solely on rent and living costs, TotallyMoney considered the price of rent alongside the cost of other student expenses.

Their research considered the weekly price of rent, the cost of a cinema ticket, a monthly gym membership, a cappuccino, a meal, the price of a pint at a Wetherspoon’s pub, the price of a doner kebab, and the price of a taxi from the town centre to the university.

Joe Gardiner, the head of brand and content for TotallyMoney, said “affordability will always remain a priority” for students.

“That’s where our infographic can help. Students will know they’re looking at the top 50 universities across the UK, but now they can choose based on other aspects that could be important to them – whether that’s rent, the cost of travel or a pint, or something else.”

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The five most affordable towns in the UK

1. Warwick

Taking first place in affordability is Warwick. Just south of Coventry, Warwick is home the University of Warwick and Warwickshire College. According to TotallyMoney, the cost of weekly rent in Warwick is just £72, with a cinema ticket and a pint costing £6.50 and £2.39 respectively. Warwick also has the second cheapest kebab, costing £3.99.

2. Norwich

Nestled away in the top of Norfolk, Norwich is home to two universities: the Norwich University of the Arts. In second place, Norwich has the cheapest rent at £52 per week. However, the slightly higher costs for everything else meant it just lost out on the top spot.

3. Swansea

Home to University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s campuses, Swansea comes in third despite a weekly rent costing £89. The reason Swansea comes third is because of its "reasonably priced" £20 gym memberships, and pints for £2.19

4. Bath

Not too far from Bristol in the south west of the country, Bath is home to the University of Bath costs £70 per week, but with cheap gym memberships available around the city, alongside £2.29 pints, it lands itself in fourth place.

5. Keele

While rent in Keele is costly and taxis are averagely priced, Keele University students can definitely get the most beer for their buck, as TotallyMoney say they have the cheapest drinks in the country, with pints costing only £1.99, putting Keele firmly in fifth place.

You can find a breakdown of all 50 of the universities TotallyMoney ranked here.

Read more: The world’s most popular student cities