Costs for university students in the upcoming school year have risen in several cities, new data from a French student federation reveals.
Increases to both rents and public transportation costs have taken place for the 2025-2026 year, states student body behind the information, the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF).
The average monthly rent for a student in France for the 2025-2026 year is now €609 (in the private sector, excluding university accommodation, etc) an increase of +2.46% compared to last year.
Average annual transportation costs across the country are now €272, up +1.44%.
In terms of rentals, only three cities have monthly rates about this national average – Paris, Nice, and Lyon – however these contain some of the highest student populations in the country.
Paris was one of five cities with above average public transportation costs alongside Lille, Strasbourg, Dijon, and Clermont-Ferrand, making it the only city that was above the national average in both categories.
Several cities remained below the national average while seeing rental costs rising, including Grenoble (+4.02%) Bordeaux (+4.80%) and Caen (+3.72%).
Lille, Metz and Orléans were all outliers, seeing rents drop by between -1% and -2.19%.
Poitiers (€397), Saint-Etienne (€405) and Mulhouse (€419) were the cheapest cities to rent in.
