"Graduates chasing job opportunities and looking to relocate may find affordable rooms are scarce, because rents, although no longer rising dramatically, haven't seen any meaningful decreases either"
- Matt Hutchinson - SpareRoom
Nottingham and Exeter have emerged as the most graduate-friendly cities in the UK, combining fast-rising entry-level job opportunities with below-average rents, according to new data.
The findings come as affordability pressures continue to squeeze the graduate rental market, with the under-25 age group in steady decline as a share of flatshare demand.
Analysis from flatshare site SpareRoom found that graduates chasing job opportunities this summer need a minimum starting salary of £32,853 to afford rent in Oxford, the UK area identified by LinkedIn as having the fastest growth in entry-level roles. Oxford also carries the second-highest average room rent outside London, at £821 per month.
London ranks fifth in LinkedIn's entry-level job growth table, but the capital demands significantly more. With average room rents at £978 per month, graduates need a minimum gross salary of £39,103 to keep housing costs within the recommended 30% of income threshold.
Oxford and London are followed by Exeter in third place for entry-level job growth, where average room rents of £662 per month sit below the UK average. Nottingham, sixth in the rankings, offers average rents of £581 per month.
The decline of younger renters in the graduate rental market has been building for a decade. Under-25s made up 32% of the flatshare market in 2015; by 2025, that figure had fallen to 26%. ONS data puts the median annual salary for 22-29-year-olds in full-time employment at £29,855, which prices young people out of half the top eight fastest-growing entry-level job locations in the UK.
"Graduates chasing job opportunities and looking to relocate may find affordable rooms are scarce, because rents, although no longer rising dramatically, haven't seen any meaningful decreases either," said Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.
"Under 25s are in steady decline in the rental market because grads today aren't only contending with high rents. Student loan repayments reduce disposable income at a time when the basic cost of living, including energy bills, food and fuel, is sky high, and the loan repayment threshold is due to be frozen from next year, triggering more grads into repayments. So it's little wonder more young people aren't leaving home, even if it does limit their career opportunities.
"A healthy economy relies on a fluid workforce, so when even flatsharing becomes unaffordable, you know you have big problems. Salaries either have to increase to reflect the higher cost of living, which puts huge pressure on businesses, or the Government has to take action to make housing more affordable for lower-paid workers, which includes those just starting out in their careers."
