The new school year is coming, and many young people are getting ready to either return or take their first steps in the capital. With their high school diploma in hand and big dreams in their heads… these students quickly have to face a harsh dose of reality: between housing costs, transportation expenses, and general living expenses, Paris turns out to be an extremely expensive city. According to the latest rankings from the Union nationale des étudiants de France (Unef) published on August 20, 2025, the French capital and the Île-de-France region tops the list of the most expensive student cities in the country.
A budget of over 1626 € per month to live in Paris as a student
Studying in…
Is it about to become extremely expensive? That's what the latest ranking from Unef suggests. Living in Paris during your studies would require an average budget of €1626.76 per month, which is an increase of 4.13% compared to last year. And the suburbs don’t seem to offer much relief either: in the top 10, only two French cities are not part of Île-de-France. Nanterre comes in second, followed by Créteil, Saint-Denis, Cergy, and Guyancourt. Nice ranks seventh with an average budget of €1370.15. Orsay and Evry take the eighth and ninth spots, while Lyon rounds out the top ten with a budget of €1323.98. These budgets see overall changes between 3.08% and 13.68%.Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Three main themes analyzed
To create this ranking, Unef relied on the cost of living in the 47 main student cities of France. The union analyzed daily expenses (food, electricity, insurance, internet, phone, clothing, etc.), rent, and the cost of transportation. Social aids were not taken into account.
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