Average Monthly Allowance For University Students UK: Average Student Living Costs
Student living costs are constantly rising, but how much is it costing them?
University = freedom. And guess what… that means trying to manage your finances on your own.
It’s not that scary, but when you realise how high the average student living costs are, you might recoil deeper into your chair, clutching onto your wallet whispering “they can’t take you away from me”.
Budgeting can be tricky to get the hang of, especially as there are lots of things you’ll need to budget for which can be hard to estimate. Luckily, thanks to your student loan you’ll be getting help from the government to help cover the costs of your rent and other living costs.
While rent is the big one that’s going to take up a big chunk of your money, there are also other things you’ll want to allow for such as food shopping, going out, socialising, buying course materials like notebooks and textbooks and grabbing a coffee here and there (and trust us, that does add up!).
According to our own Student Beans research on income and spending for UK students, 20.9% of students spend over £300 in an average month. That’s quite a bit of money to be spending when you’re trying to study for your degree.
For your sake, we’re going to dive into the average student living costs, so you know what to expect when you go to university.
Buckle up.
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Jump to:
- Average student living costs
- How much do students need to live on?
- Is the maintenance loan enough?
- Where can I get extra money from to help cover the costs of being a student?
Average student living costs
According to a Student Money Survey 2024, the table below shows the average student living costs.
| Expense | Cost (per month) |
|---|---|
| Rent | £540 |
| Groceries | £144 |
| Household bills | £76 |
| Transport | £65 |
| Going out | £51 |
| Takeaways/eating out | £48 |
| Clothes & shopping | £32 |
| Holidays & events | £29 |
| Health & wellbeing | £22 |
| Interest payments | £19 |
| Course materials i.e. books | £18 |
| Mobile phone | £16 |
| Other | £16 |
| Gifts & charity | £14 |
| Friends & family | £14 |
| Total | £1,104 |
Rent is typically the biggest monthly expense for students, followed by groceries and then bills (some students might pay their rent inclusive of bills).
While students aren’t necessarily making big purchases or spending willy nilly, the monthly outgoings do add up to a significant amount (regardless of whether you buy that Starbucks coffee or not).
The issue isn’t how much students are spending, but how little financial help students get that actually helps.
How much do students need to live on?
Based on the data and the table above, students need roughly £1,104 per month to live on. However, in some areas of the country this might be higher due to more expensive rent, equally in some areas it might be less.
If you have a maintenance loan, the minimum maintenance loan might not even help cover your rent and bills.
If you’ve already graduated from university and have started making repayments towards your student loan debt, you might be entitled to a student loan refund, if you’ve happened to have overpaid.
Is the maintenance loan enough?
Your maintenance loan will be based on parental income, location, age and many other factors. The short answer is, while everyone is different there is probably a big chance that your maintenance loan is not going to be able to fund your complete university lifestyle.
While your student loan can go towards the essential items (rent, bills, groceries) etc. many students find that it doesn’t go far enough to cover the other day-to-day living costs of being a student.
Being a student is as much about socialising as it is studying, and while your loan might cover your rent most students will have additional income to help cover the costs of going out and enjoying a social life.
The maximum maintenance loan you can get (if you’re living away from home, outside of London) is £10,227 — based on a household income of £25,000. If you divide that by 12 months of the year, it equals roughly £852.25 per month.
Based on the table data, this wouldn’t be enough for the average student to live off of monthly. However, you might be entitled to more maintenance loan if you have a disability and entitled to disabled students’ allowance.
Where can I get extra money from to help cover the costs of being a student?
A lot of students take up part-time jobs to help cover the additional costs of being a student, outside of non-essential spending.
Many Students’ Unions will offer part-time jobs to students which are designed to not interfere with your studying and will be more flexible in terms of your schedule, so this could be a good place to start if you’re looking for a job.
Student Unions tend to be good employers as they are more understanding of the fact that you’re a student and will have other responsibilities such as exams and deadlines.
Other students get part-time jobs in retail, hospitality, supermarkets or in bars and clubs to help provide an additional income. Online jobs for students are also great as they can be done from your home and tend to be more flexible than in-person jobs.
There’s also other ways you can earn money without getting a part-time job or relying on your parents, such as selling clothes online or tutoring younger students.
Food delivery companies such as Deliveroo are also favourable to students as you can pick up shifts in your own time and you only need a bike (if you don’t have a car) to be able to do it (and a bike won’t cost you anything extra to run).
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