How Do UK Students Pay Their Living Costs?

Student loans and family assistance are by far the most common way for students to fund their living costs, with only 15 percent covering their costs with their own income through part-time employment, according to the NatWest Student Living Index 2020. The study surveyed 2,806 university students living in the UK in June 2020.

However, students are less reliant on financial support from their family than last year, receiving average supplements of £192.50, down from £222 in 2019.

Students at the University of Edinburgh have the highest average monthly income in the UK at £267.80, compared to students at the University of Portsmouth who earn around £95.20 a month. Unsurprisingly, London continues to hold the title for the city with the highest cost of living in 2020. 

The majority of students do not work alongside their studies, with 64 percent of respondents not holding a part-time job. Those who do have part-time jobs tend to work only 12.8 hours a month, although students in Belfast are likely to spend almost double the national average in their part-time work with 21.7 hours per month. 

They are followed by students in London, working 19 hours a month, and students in Glasgow working 18 hours a month. Contrastingly, students at Nottingham spend less than five hours (4.6) a month in part-time work.

Students at Durham University tend to earn the least from part-time work during term-time, pocketing an average of £45.10 a month. On the other end of the scale, students in Edinburgh earn the most from term-time work, around £182.80 a month. 

During the holidays, students at the University of Aberdeen come out on top, earning an average of £134.40 a month. Students at the University of Sheffield earn the least, an average of £25.30 a month.