Exactly one year ago today, StudentCrowd designated Bradford as the most affordable city for student housing in the United Kingdom, marking the second successive year it held this position.

The designation came from StudentCrowd’s Cheapest City 2025 ranking, which evaluated urban areas throughout the country according to the cost of student accommodation.

Within Bradford, the typical cost for a bedroom in a flat with shared facilities and communal bathrooms amounted to £78 weekly.

The mean expenditure across all accommodation categories in the city reached £100 per week, underscoring its continued standing as a budget-friendly option for students.

A StudentCrowd representative commented that while inexpensive rooms are available to students in numerous cities, the lowest rates are not necessarily accessible to everyone.

London, meanwhile, was identified as the priciest destination for students, with East London rental costs reaching an average of £493 per week, highlighting a considerable disparity in living expenses nationwide.

Paul Humphreys, chief executive and co-founder of StudentCrowd, noted that as the cost of living continues to increase and places greater strain on students than previously experienced, accommodation expenses have become a pivotal consideration when selecting a university.

He went on to say that the organisation takes pride in delivering students with transparent, current information regarding affordability across the United Kingdom, enabling them to plan ahead, manage their finances prudently, and make well-informed decisions about their accommodation choices.

The ten most affordable towns and cities in the 2025 ranking, listed from least to most costly, were Bradford, Carlisle, Carmarthen, Aberystwyth, Huddersfield, Preston, Stoke-on-Trent, Wrexham, Paisley, and Sunderland.

The standings were determined using the prices of purpose-built student accommodation and university-operated halls, with house in multiple occupation rentals excluded from the analysis.