The Royal Bank of Scotland’s new Student Living Index has found that Edinburgh is the most expensive UK city for students to live.
Surveying 3,052 students from across 63 UK universities, the index analysed average monthly living and accommodation against average monthly income to calculate a city’s affordability.
Edinburgh students have the lowest monthly term time income of any city at £1,453 and spend £1,072.61 each month.
While costs are comparable to other major cities and dwarfed by London, low term-time incomes mean Edinburgh students increasingly rely on part-time and holiday work.
Edinburgh is the only city where part-time working hours have increased since 2022.
Read More: EUSA Fringe employees on zero hour contracts left with no shifts: Edinburgh ranked the most expensive UK city for students to liveThe cost of living and housing crises have exacerbated low incomes, with 46 per cent of students running out of money by the end of the semester.
Rising food prices have driven up the cost of supermarket shops for Edinburgh students, where grocery spending has soared by 286 per cent year on year – well above the 44 per cent average increase nationally.
The survey showed that rent presents the largest cost to students and has increased across the UK by an average of 30 per cent.
Edinburgh was revealed to be the fourth most expensive city for students to rent in.
Responding to these results, Slurp, the student-run society supporting people affected by homelessness in Edinburgh, told The Student:
“The findings demonstrate the unbearable reality that students in Edinburgh have been facing”.
They claim that: “the universities’ failure to match student intake with housing stock and a lack of emergency accommodation create such desperate demand for housing that private landlords are able to increase rents exponentially for student tenancies at the start of the academic year”.
Read More: The University of Edinburgh fares poorly in the latest National Student Survey: Edinburgh ranked the most expensive UK city for students to liveFaced with increased costs, students have been forced to cut spending.
Students spend 25 per cent less time going out on average than last year, and a third (34 per cent) have reduced the number of meals they eat each day.
Increased expenses have affected students’ mental health – a quarter of students have found managing their money stressful.
According to the survey, 30 per cent of Edinburgh students feel they have been offered no support from their university to help with the cost of living crisis.
This comes after research by the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) found that 80 per cent of University of Edinburgh students surveyed felt their student experience had suffered due to the cost of living crisis.
This Month at The Fringe: Nicola Sturgeon tells Keir Starmer to “find some backbone” in first post-resignation interview: Edinburgh ranked the most expensive UK city for students to liveEUSA Vice President Welfare, Lauren Byrne, and Vice President Education, Carl Harper, told The Student that: “the housing crisis and exorbitant living costs in the city have profoundly concerning effects on academic performance.
“We are calling on the University to ensure all students can access quality, affordable housing, and are targeting our efforts at ensuring that the financial support on offer is accessible and utilised.
”We are also working at every level to ensure that students are not being penalised for having to take on part-time work, and these responsibilities are considered at policy level.”
Responding to the findings, a University of Edinburgh spokesperson said:
“One of our core areas of priority support is to help students deal with the challenges they experience with their cost of living.
“We have enhanced our student support funding over recent times and we will continue to monitor the demand for these funds, and stand ready to respond to the challenges faced by our student body.
“Our students in University accommodation pay a standard rent that includes all utilities and our rental rates remain some of the lowest in the sector.
Details about the financial support available to students can be found on the University’s website.
“Edinburgh” by barnyz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.