The student-to-bed ratio divides the number of full-time students in a place by the purpose-built beds available to them; the higher it is, the tighter the supply. There is no official national figure, and published ratios vary with how students, beds and boundaries are counted, so we read the balance town by town. Below are approximate HESA full-time student numbers for the 62 university towns we cover, alongside verified delivery and pipeline for the cities Knight Frank reports: London led 2025 delivery with 4,350 new beds, and London, Bristol and Glasgow hold the largest volumes under construction.
- Towns covered62 university towns (HESA)
- Largest full-time student baseLondon, c.415,000 (HESA, approximate)
- Most new beds delivered, 2025London, 4,350 (Knight Frank)
- Most beds under constructionLondon, 14,600 (Knight Frank, early 2026)
- UK beds under construction for 2026/27c.19,000 (Knight Frank, Q2 2026)
- As atSeptember 2026
What is the student-to-bed ratio?
- Which students: all full-time students, or only those who need term-time accommodation (excluding students living at their parental or own home).
- Which beds: private PBSA only, or university-owned halls as well, and whether beds under refurbishment are counted.
- Which area: the local authority boundary, the city's built-up area, or a wider travel-to-study catchment.
- Which date: student numbers usually lag a year or two behind bed counts, and the pipeline changes the picture as schemes deliver.
How to work out the balance for a town
- Start with the full-time student count from HESA for the universities in the town.
- Deduct students who live at their parental or own home, using HESA term-time accommodation data where it is available, to get the students who need a bed.
- Count operational beds: private PBSA and university halls, from the council, the universities and operator websites.
- Add consented and under-construction schemes from local planning records to see where the ratio is heading.
- Set the result against the rental tone and incentives in the market: a falling ratio with rising incentives signals competition for tenants.
A lender does not fund a national average. It asks whether this scheme, in this location, will let at the assumed rent. The student-to-bed balance, the local pipeline and the rental evidence together answer that, and we assemble them for each case we arrange.
Full-time student numbers by town
| Town | County | Full-time students | International | Universities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London (central universities) | Greater London | 415,000 | 165,000 | 5 |
| Manchester | Greater Manchester | 100,000 | 30,000 | 3 |
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 80,000 | 22,000 | 4 |
| Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | 65,000 | 20,000 | 2 |
| Leeds | West Yorkshire | 65,000 | 16,000 | 4 |
| Bristol City Centre | Bristol | 60,000 | 16,000 | 2 |
| Liverpool | Merseyside | 60,000 | 17,000 | 3 |
| Sheffield | South Yorkshire | 60,000 | 16,000 | 2 |
| Cardiff City Centre | Cardiff | 55,000 | 14,000 | 3 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | Tyne and Wear | 50,000 | 14,000 | 2 |
| Coventry | West Midlands | 50,000 | 18,000 | 2 |
| Camden | Greater London | 48,000 | 19,000 | 2 |
| Oxford | Oxfordshire | 45,000 | 16,000 | 2 |
| Westminster | Greater London | 42,000 | 18,000 | 2 |
| Southampton | Hampshire | 40,000 | 11,000 | 2 |
| Leicester | Leicestershire | 40,000 | 11,000 | 2 |
| Southwark | Greater London | 35,000 | 13,000 | 2 |
| Brighton | Sussex | 35,000 | 8,000 | 2 |
| Canterbury | Kent | 31,000 | 6,000 | 2 |
| Cambridge | Cambridgeshire | 30,000 | 11,000 | 2 |
| Cathays | Cardiff | 30,000 | 8,000 | 1 |
| Tower Hamlets | Greater London | 30,000 | 11,000 | 1 |
| Preston | Lancashire | 30,000 | 7,000 | 1 |
| Exeter | Devon | 28,000 | 8,000 | 1 |
| Stratford | Greater London | 28,000 | 10,000 | 2 |
| Portsmouth | Hampshire | 28,000 | 7,000 | 1 |
| Islington | Greater London | 26,000 | 10,000 | 1 |
| York | North Yorkshire | 26,000 | 7,000 | 2 |
| Hatfield | Hertfordshire | 25,000 | 7,000 | 1 |
| Bath | Somerset | 25,000 | 9,000 | 2 |
Where new beds are being delivered
| City | Beds delivered in 2025 | Under construction, early 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| London | 4,350 | 14,600 |
| Nottingham | 2,550 | Not reported |
| Leeds | 1,900 | Not reported |
| Bristol | Not reported | 5,000 |
| Glasgow | Not reported | 4,300 |
Where rents show supply pressure easing
Student schemes in our planning data
Sources
Sources: Knight Frank, UK Student Market Update Q4 2025 (February 2026); Knight Frank, UK Student Market Update Q2 2026; Knight Frank, UK Student Accommodation Outlook 2025/26.
Market figures checked against their primary sources in September 2026. HESA town figures are approximate.
