Cost of living

Living in Swansea

The Money Advice Team team understand that rising Costs of Living will be a concern to many of our students. We have detailed and up to date information available to students on our Cost Of Living webpage below, and students can access a comprehensive range of budgeting resources, advice and top money saving tips, on our My Uni Pages.

If enrolled students experience hardship due to unforeseen circumstances, then they may be able to apply to our hardship funds. There is an expectation that students will have prioritised their essential living costs before applying. For more information, please refer to our Hardship Funds webpage.

The most important advice we can offer is don’t struggle in silence: Early communication can help prevent problems escalating, so please speak to us if you are concerned about your finances and we will work with you to explore your options.

Below are average living costs for 2025* (updated as of April 2025).
Costs for international students may vary, and we encourage you to refer to our UK LIVING COSTS AND FINANCES: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS page.
The level of these costs depends heavily on lifestyle and will vary from person to person, but it's always a good idea to draw up a budget - and stick to it!

*Swansea University accommodation costs are represented on the assumption of a standard 40 week contractual agreement. General living costs figures are drawn from the Save The Student 2025 dataset, published September 2024 for the 24/25 academic year. In lieu of recent survey data we have temporarily updated these figures in line with inflation to represent a more precise estimation.

Halls of Residence Costs

Expenditure	Cost per week	Cost per academic year (52 weeks)
Rent	£176*	£9152
Gas/Elec/Water/Internet	Inc in Rent	Inc in Rent
Contents Insurance	Inc in Rent	Inc in Rent
Rent (including a Pre-paid Dining Card)	£181	£9412

*Average cost based on a medium en-suite room.

University accommodation costs range from £130 per week - £258 per week depending on requirements and a Reservation Deposit in advance of £50.00 is payable on acceptance of your offer of accommodation.

Private Residence Costs

Expenditure	Cost per week	Cost per year (52 weeks)
Rent (based on a double room in a shared house)	£135	£7020
Gas/Elec/Water/Internet (Per person)	£19	£988
Contents Insurance	£1.54	£80
Bus travel	£7.69 (£5.13)*	£400 (£267)*

*Costs in brackets are for those who use Tap On Tap Off (TOTO) when buying adult fares across all bus services in South and West Wales.

If you are aged under 22 when you start studying at Swansea University you can apply for a Travel Pass. You can save up to a third off your ticket by showing your Travel Pass to the bus driver. If you are not eligible for a Travel Pass, students can still apply for 10% off standard fare First Cymru tickets.

Please note that these are average figures based on the assumption of a double room in a shared, privately rented house under a contractual agreement of 52 weeks. Bond/ Deposit will be payable to secure accommodation.

General Living Costs

General Living Costs	Costs per Week	Cost per academic year (40 weeks)
Leisure Spending (including socialising, takeaways, holidays, events and health and wellbeing)	£52.50	£2100
TV Licence	£4.36	£174.50
Clothes/Shopping	£8	£320
Groceries/Toiletries/Household items	£36	£1440
Phone (Mobile data plan only)	£4	£160
Childcare Costs	£258.65*	£10346

*Based on the average Swansea day nursery hourly rate of £7.39 x 35 hours spent on average attending University per week (Source: Childcare.co.uk).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please Note: This page is intended to give you an example of living costs for a student at university. Actual living costs will vary from student to student. All living costs are reasonable estimates but should not be relied upon.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure they have sufficient funds to meet their living costs whilst studying at university. These figures cannot account for individual circumstances and are only intended as a general guide to help you prepare your finances before attending university. These costs may be reduced with forward planning and careful budgeting.

Figures are drawn from average costs paid by students taken by various sources including Save The Student (2025 Dataset), Consumer Price Index & Money Helper. Inflation has been applied, making figures reflective of actual living costs as of May 2024.

For information on what income you may be entitled to please visit our Undergraduate Funding Page.

Course Costs

The average UK student will spend around £18 a week (£72 per month) on costs relating to their course, such as books, subscriptions, course equipment, and printing and binding.
In addition, your course may include costs associated with field trips.
It is important to plan ahead as depending on your course there may be a number of mandatory and optional costs to pay. For a detailed list of specific costs associated with your course please contact your department.
Please also be aware that if you are not entitled to, or decide not to access, tuition fee funding, then this cost also needs to be considered.
Certain programmes (or modules) may attract further mandatory or optional costs necessary for you to fully participate in and complete your program of choice. See here for more information Additional cost.