Infographics. Dijon, Lyon... Which student cities are seeing the highest cost of living?

Housing, transport, food, energy, registration fees... In 2025, according to UNEF calculations, the cost of student living will increase by an average of 807 euros per year (*), or +4.12% compared to 2024. But not all cities are experiencing this increase in the same way, the student union revealed this Wednesday in its ranking of university cities.

In 2025, Paris remains the most expensive university city, with a monthly cost of €1,626.76 for students living within Paris. However, it is Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) and Chambéry (Savoie) that have recorded the largest increases compared to last year. In Nanterre, the cost of living this year reached €1,520.33, an increase of 13.68% compared to last year. In Chambéry, the cost of living increased by 13.18% to €1,246.73.

The cities of Angers (+8.01%), Rennes (+7.5%), and Saint-Denis (+6.94%) also recorded significant increases, above the national average. Lyon also made a notable entry into the ranking of the 10 most expensive student cities in France, due to a cost of living increase of 6.53%.

How can we explain why the cost is increasing so much in these cities? It is mainly due to the observed change in rents . Nanterre, Chambéry, Angers, Rennes and Saint-Denis are in fact the five cities in which the average rental cost will increase the most in 2025. While nationally, rents are increasing by 2.46% this academic year, UNEF estimates the increase at +20% in Nanterre and +19.26% in Chambéry.

Although they have recorded a significant increase, the average cost of rent in Chambéry (551 euros), Rennes (493 euros) and Angers (474 euros) remains significantly lower than rents in the Paris region. For example, you have to pay 915 euros per month - excluding personalized housing assistance (APL) - to live in Paris for the 2025-2026 school year, 816 euros in Nanterre and 798 euros in Créteil. Outside the Île-de-France region, Nice is the city with the highest rents (675 euros, +1.66%), followed by Lyon (623 euros, +4.18%).

Another expense that weighs heavily on student budgets: transportation. In 2026, five cities and the Île-de-France region are increasing their fares. The most significant change is in Toulouse (+4.85%), but the city maintains one of the lowest fares at 162 euros. The increase is 3.47% in Rouen, where the cost rises to 268 euros, and 2.59% in Île-de-France, which leads the podium with a cost that now reaches 392.30 euros.

Outside the Paris region, transport costs are highest in Dijon (385 euros, +1.84%) and lowest in Montpellier, which has offered free transport since 2024. An initiative that UNEF would like to see extended to all students and young people.

(*) The UNEF survey methodology establishes typical student profiles and calculates the difference between expenses and aid received for each profile. However, UNEF explains that it does not have all the data to include certain tax deductions.