As students head back to university this autumn, the cost of a room is firmly in focus.
Average rents paid by students were analysed across UK cities and, unsurprisingly, London came out highest, with students paying an average of £1,508 a month towards their rent over the past year.
Reading remains in second place for the second year running at £982, followed by Oxford at £871 and Cambridge at £826, while Bristol completes the top five at £799.
Brighton, which ranked third last year, has fallen to eighth with an average of £765, while York and Birmingham are new entries to the top 10 compared with last year.
Across the country, the average share of monthly rent paid by students now stands at £1,007, up 7.9% from £933 a year ago. Source: Dataloft Rental Market Analytics by PriceHubble, average share of monthly rent paid by students in the 12 months to end August 2026 living in private rental accommodation rather than purpose built student accommodation, cities with fewer than 100 tenancies excluded.