A student in Nottingham needs about £802 a month for a room in a shared house and the essentials in 2026/27. The maximum maintenance loan outside London is £879 a month, so the standard budget balances with about £77 to spare before any part-time work. Here is where the money goes, and where the numbers come from.
Monthly student budget in Nottingham
| Cost | Per month | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Room in a shared house | £450 | NatWest Student Living Index average student rent |
| Groceries | £149 | NatWest UK student average (£155) scaled by ONS regional food spend for the East Midlands |
| Bus pass | £69 | Operator’s published student month ticket |
| Bills and broadband | £55 | Ofgem Oct–Dec 2026 typical-use energy + Water UK 2026/27 + £32 broadband, split four ways |
| Eight pints | £39 | Finder.com 2026: £4.87 a pint in Nottingham |
| Two nights out | £40 | Site estimate |
| Total | £802 | Maximum loan £879/month (£10,544/year, England, away from home outside London) |
Adjust it for your own numbers
Rent in Nottingham: what the ONS data says
The ONS Price Index of Private Rents publishes an average monthly rent for Nottingham by number of bedrooms. These are averages across every private tenancy in the area, not student-area asking prices, which is why they run below what student letting agents quote. They are the most reliable rent figures that exist.
| Property | Nottingham, Aug 2026 | England | Per room (shared) |
|---|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | £735 | £1,195 | — |
| Two bedrooms | £914 | £1,335 | £457 each |
| Three bedrooms | £1,052 | £1,489 | £351 each |
| Four or more bedrooms | £1,460 | £2,161 | £365 each (four sharing) |
| NatWest Student Living Index 2025 average student rent | £450 | Survey figure; student areas and bills-included lets push it above the ONS average |
Rents in Nottingham were up 1.8% in the year to August 2026 (England: up 4.0%). A three-bedroom home is 29% cheaper than the England average. Per-room figures exclude bills; add the £55 bills line above, or look for a bills-included let and compare the total.
Halls in Nottingham
Broadgate Park, the UPP-run village next to the University of Nottingham’s main campus, charges from £129 a week for an Essential Standard room and £155 for a standard room, with en-suites at £225 and studios up to £325 for 2026/27. Bills, WiFi and contents insurance are included. The university’s own catered halls on campus are priced through the accommodation portal once you have an offer.
Halls look expensive next to a shared-house room, but most include energy, water and internet and run for 39–44 weeks rather than 52, so compare the yearly total: a £129 a week room on a 40-week contract is £5,160 a year, against roughly £6,060 for twelve months of a shared room plus bills.
Where students live
Lenton and Dunkirk are the University of Nottingham’s student heartland, between the campus and the city. Trent students favour the Arboretum, Radford and the city centre. Beeston, next to the campus, is quieter and popular with returning students.
What Nottingham is like on a student budget
Nottingham is the archetypal two-university city and one of the best-value ones in England. The ONS one-bedroom average of £735 a month is below Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham, and rents rose just 1.8% in the year to August 2026, the slowest of any city on this page. Nottingham City Transport also publishes a proper student month ticket, which many cities do not.
Getting around
Nottingham City Transport’s Easyrider student month ticket is £69.15 (adult £82) from 1 March 2026, and the tram links the University of Nottingham campus to the city centre. Hopper buses run between the university sites.
See how Nottingham compares with 22 other cities in the student cost comparison tool.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to live in Nottingham as a student?
Around £802 a month for a room in a shared house, groceries, a bus pass, bills, a few pints and two nights out, on September 2026 figures. The maximum maintenance loan for 2026/27 outside London is £879 a month, so the standard budget leaves about £77 spare before any part-time work or family support.
What is the average rent in Nottingham?
The ONS Price Index of Private Rents gives an average of £735 a month for a one-bedroom and £1,052 for a three-bedroom home in Nottingham in August 2026, up 1.8% on a year earlier. A room in a shared three-bedroom house therefore averages about £351 before bills.
How much are halls in Nottingham?
Broadgate Park, the UPP-run village next to the University of Nottingham’s main campus, charges from £129 a week for an Essential Standard room and £155 for a standard room, with en-suites at £225 and studios up to £325 for 2026/27. Bills, WiFi and contents insurance are included. The university’s own catered halls on campus are priced through the accommodation portal once you have an offer.
Is Nottingham a cheap city for students?
Yes. ONS average rents in August 2026 were £735 for a one-bedroom and £1,052 for a three-bedroom home, below the Midlands average and around a third lower than Bristol. Rent growth of 1.8% over the year was the slowest of the cities we cover.
Sources
- ONS Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics, August 2026 data, released 16 September 2026 (local authority average rent by bedroom count).
- Broadgate Park (UPP) room prices, 2026/27 prices as published on 17 September 2026.
- ONS Family Spending in the UK, FYE 2025, regional food spend (workbook 3, Table A33).
- NatWest Student Living Index 2025, UK average monthly student spend on food and groceries.
- Ofgem energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, regional Direct Debit rates; Water UK average bills 2026/27.
- Finder.com pint price research 2026.
- Published operator fares for the bus pass line (see the methodology page for the operator and ticket used for each city).
- Student Finance England, 2026/27 maintenance loan maximum.