Students at the Scottish capital expect to receive 53% more from their family than the average UK student, working out at an extra £110 per month.

The 2021 Royal Bank of Scotland Student Living Index surveyed 2,300 students across the UK to determine the most affordable place to study. The survey accounts for a range of factors, from how much students spend on going out to how much time they spend studying.

Lower than average monthly income and higher costs of rent meant that Edinburgh ranked 14 out of 21 cities in the Index this year. In contrast, Glasgow ranked in the top three.

High levels of term-time work income and cheap monthly rent contributed significantly to Glasgow being named the third most affordable in the UK for students.

Monthly income for Glasgow students has jumped up 32.4% since 2020. This has been helped by a large increase in income from term-time work, where it has overtaken Edinburgh as the city most reliant on this as a source of monthly income, averaging nearly £83 more a month than the average UK student.

Alongside this, Glasgow also has the lowest average monthly rent price at £447.40, which sits at around £70 less per month than the UK student average.

Overall, Scottish students are the least reliant on student loans, or have smaller loans to finance their living. This could be linked to tuition fees being free for local students, as well as a greater dependence on sources like personal savings, or bursary and scholarships.

In comparison to vast dissatisfaction over the value of online education from many English students, Scottish universities performed much better. Glasgow ranked highest for its value of virtual teaching, whilst Edinburgh followed behind in fourth place.

Sheffield has topped the list of UK cities with the best value for money for students, with Cambridge falling just behind in second.

The cost of living for students has increased sharply over the last year. The Royal Bank of Scotland Living Index takes account of student spending and income to calculate a score for university towns and cities across the UK. This year shows a 7% increase on the average score with supermarket spending up 5%, and rent up almost 20%, significantly contributing to this.

Andy Nicholson, head of RBS student accounts, said: “The cost of being a student is increasing, making it more important than ever that students properly manage their finances. We offer a range of tools to help, including spend categorisation in our mobile app so students can see exactly where their money is going every month and a savings goal tool to help develop a strong savings habit.”