Rank | Town/City | Median Salary | Monthly Cost of Living | Average Rent (1 Bed Property) | Employment Rate | % of Population Aged 18-25 | Pubs & Bars per 10,000 People | Restaurants per 10,000 People | Overall Score |
1 | Cambridge | £34,565 | £707.85 | £713 | 81.0% | 23.18% | 7.16 | 106.32 | 81.60 |
2 | Oxford | £31,472 | £702.41 | £761 | 80.9% | 24.23% | 6.48 | 87.41 | 72.71 |
3 | Brighton and Hove | £32,003 | £769.20 | £919 | 75.2% | 16.77% | 8.44 | 106.13 | 66.79 |
4 | York | £28,671 | £706.46 | £723 | 78.6% | 16.85% | 9.05 | 88.81 | 65.54 |
5 | Edinburgh | £32,182 | £652.31 | £883 | 76.3% | 12.87% | 7.43 | 84.44 | 65.26 |
6 | Cardiff | £30,475 | £638.06 | £613 | 76.2% | 17.06% | 4.80 | 88.59 | 64.37 |
7 | Norwich | £26,813 | £668.73 | £544 | 73.3% | 18.65% | 7.79 | 104.65 | 63.61 |
8 | Bristol | £30,388 | £701.64 | £666 | 77.8% | 16.13% | 6.15 | 83.97 | 62.87 |
9 | Bournemouth | £30,781 | £615.77 | £660 | 79.4% | 13.42% | 3.86 | 80.32 | 62.32 |
10 | Reading | £32,852 | £729.83 | £663 | 78.1% | 13.48% | 4.90 | 74.69 | 60.93 |
Money, Money, Money - Median salary - London (£36,797)
Affordable Living - Monthly cost of living - Belfast (£560.63)
Cheaper Rent Costs - Average rent - Sunderland (£382)
Baggin’ a Job - Employment rate - Cambridge (81%)
Being Amongst Fellow Grads - % of population aged 18-25 - Oxford (24.23%)
The Socialiser - Pubs and bars (per 10,000 people) - York (9.05)
The Foodie - Restaurants (per 10,000 people) - Blackpool (120.67)
The world of work is a scary place for graduates at the moment, so Kim Connor Streich, Marketing Director of Debut also has some knowledgeable advice for young grads starting their adult lives right now:
View the graduate career index in full here.“The last three months have rocked the world, graduating students included. In the initial week or so of lockdown, we saw applications plummet and app use substantially down, but since then it has picked up. I think students are very aware that their options are likely to be more limited and there will be more competition for jobs.
"Students should not be worried, but they should be very focused on preparing and getting applications in. Some companies paused recruitment, but that was to get their processes revised so that they could do these from home. Currently, most employers are trying to get back to hiring, but will make final decisions on numbers of recruits closer to the time.
"Some industries have been hit particularly hard. For example if you were thinking of getting a job in the airline sector, then you will really struggle as many of the graduate schemes have been cancelled. One of the themes that many employers have been pushing for a while and that will apply even more this year is that your degree does not define you. Even for subject specific degrees such as finance, your skills can be used in every company, the same goes for every degree.
"The graduate recruitment market will be more competitive this year however, so students should be really focused on getting applications in early and making sure they put their best foot forward. They also will definitely have to get used to doing video interviews and presenting on camera.”