Rankings
Best places to live in the UK for students
Reweighted for student budgets: rent and things to do first, buying a house last.
In short
The best UK places for students are ranked here by weighting cost of living highest, then lifestyle, transport and safety, with house prices almost discounted. The current top three are Hartlepool (78), Stranraer (78) and Chester-le-Street (77).
- Overall score reweighted: cost of living x2.5, lifestyle x2, transport x1.5, safety x1.3, housing x0.6.
- Ranked from 539 indexed UK areas, rebuilt daily from the latest published figures.
- Every area links to a full report with the source behind each figure.
| # | Area | Nation | Score | Cost of living | Safety | Weather | Broadband |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Hartlepool | England | 78 | 97 | 39 | 78 | 97 |
| =1 | Stranraer | Scotland | 78 | 97 | 48 | — | 68 |
| =3 | Chester-le-Street | England | 77 | 92 | 53 | 78 | 88 |
| =3 | Sunderland | England | 77 | 88 | 41 | 78 | 96 |
| =3 | Chorley | England | 77 | 83 | 49 | — | 92 |
| =6 | Barnsley | England | 76 | 89 | 42 | 65 | 92 |
| =6 | Bishop Auckland | England | 76 | 92 | 55 | 78 | 88 |
| =6 | Chesterfield | England | 76 | 86 | 45 | 65 | 95 |
| =6 | Gateshead | England | 76 | 83 | 38 | 78 | 92 |
| =6 | Perth | Scotland | 76 | 86 | 59 | 67 | 60 |
Category scores are 0 to 100 and a dash means that dataset has not loaded for the area yet, in which case it is excluded from the overall score rather than guessed at. Open any area for the full report and its sources.
Best places to live in the UK for students: the full ranking
Areas are ranked on whatever categories they have, with the weights renormalised over them, so an area with a gap is scored on its own remaining evidence. Show only areas measured on all twelve categories to compare like with like.
Best in Scotland
Best in England
Best in Wales
Ranked from 539 indexed areas by TrackPostcode.UK scores. Coverage grows as more areas are indexed.
About this ranking
How is the student ranking weighted?
Cost of living counts two and a half times its normal share, things to do twice, transport one and a half times, and safety and broadband slightly more, while house prices and healthcare access are down-weighted because most students rent rather than buy and are young. Right now the highest are Hartlepool (78/100), Stranraer (78/100), Chester-le-Street (77/100).
Does this ranking consider university quality?
No. It scores the place, not the institution. Use it alongside the course and university research you are already doing, to judge what living there would cost and be like.
Is the cost figure the same as student rent?
No. It comes from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents for the whole local authority, which includes family homes. Purpose-built student accommodation is usually priced separately and can differ sharply from the area average.
Every ranking
The same index ordered by a different measurement each time, from the same twelve category scores and rebuilt daily. Each one states on its own page what it measures and what it does not.
What this ranking measures: Overall score reweighted: cost of living x2.5, lifestyle x2, transport x1.5, safety x1.3, housing x0.6. Read the full methodology before quoting a figure.
Primary sources: Office for National Statistics, HM Land Registry, police.uk and Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km climate data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.