How is the Students Persona Fit score weighted?

For students the six sub-scores are weighted: Affordability (rent) 35%, Connectivity (broadband) 25%, Safety (low crime) 15%, Living cost (council tax) 15%, Schools (Ofsted Good+) 5%, Health (life expectancy) 5%. Each sub-score is a min-max-normalised 0–100 value over real government data; the weighted average is the Gera Persona Fit. Full method at /methodology/gera-persona-fit.

Which area is best for students right now?

Peterborough (East of England) ranks #1 with 76.2/100, followed by Ipswich (76.1) and Southend-on-Sea (75.9). Recomputed quarterly from the source datasets.

Best places to live in England for students

Persona weighting: Affordability (rent) 35%, Connectivity (broadband) 25%, Safety (low crime) 15%, Living cost (council tax) 15%, Schools (Ofsted Good+) 5%, Health (life expectancy) 5%.

Updated quarterly · last recomputed 2026-06-19 from the latest government data releases.

What is the best place to live in England for students?

As of 2026-06-19, the best England local authority for students is Peterborough, scoring 76.2/100 on the Gera Persona Fit index — a persona-weighted composite of rent, crime, Ofsted schools, broadband, life expectancy and council tax across 286 English local authorities, joined from seven government open datasets. GeraRent recomputes it quarterly.

Gera Persona Fit: Peterborough 76.2/100How this is computed

Top 50 areas for students

#	Area	Region	Persona Fit	GLS
1	Peterborough	East of England	76.2	67.4
2	Ipswich	East of England	76.1	68.5
3	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	75.9	69.7
4	Erewash	East Midlands	74.7	66.2
5	Derby	East Midlands	74.4	64.3
6	Bracknell Forest	South East	74.2	76.0
7	Milton Keynes	South East	73.5	70.1
8	Luton	East of England	73.3	66.5
9	Braintree	East of England	73.1	68.0
10	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	73.0	60.1
11	Gosport	South East	72.8	66.6
12	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	72.5	66.2
13	Swindon	South West	72.3	64.6
14	Worthing	South East	72.3	66.3
15	Chesterfield	East Midlands	72.2	62.3
16	Fenland	East of England	71.9	63.7
17	Torbay	South West	71.6	64.8
18	Maldon	East of England	71.4	67.7
19	Southampton	South East	71.3	62.9
20	Broxtowe	East Midlands	71.2	63.5
21	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	71.2	67.8
22	Leicester	East Midlands	71.1	60.3
23	Amber Valley	East Midlands	71.0	63.7
24	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	71.0	60.9
25	Fareham	South East	71.0	69.5
26	Rushmoor	South East	71.0	67.4
27	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	70.6	62.5
28	Norwich	East of England	70.4	64.0
29	Lincoln	East Midlands	70.3	59.7
30	Dudley	West Midlands	70.1	60.7
31	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	70.1	59.8
32	East Suffolk	East of England	69.9	65.8
33	West Oxfordshire	South East	69.9	67.5
34	Thurrock	East of England	69.7	62.8
35	Worcester	West Midlands	69.7	60.8
36	Huntingdonshire	East of England	69.6	66.2
37	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	69.6	62.9
38	Hyndburn	North West	69.5	54.6
39	Portsmouth	South East	69.5	64.5
40	Gedling	East Midlands	69.4	62.4
41	Kingston upon Hull, City of	Yorkshire and The Humber	69.4	54.4
42	Slough	South East	69.4	66.8
43	Coventry	West Midlands	69.2	56.9
44	South Kesteven	East Midlands	69.2	64.4
45	Plymouth	South West	69.1	63.5
46	Bolsover	East Midlands	69.0	59.0
47	Medway	South East	68.9	65.2
48	Cheltenham	South West	68.6	63.3
49	Boston	East Midlands	68.5	60.3
50	Reading	South East	68.4	65.0

By region

Students in East Midlands Students in East of England Students in London Students in North East Students in North West Students in South East Students in South West Students in West Midlands Students in Yorkshire and The Humber

Adjust the weights to your own priorities

Set how much each factor matters to you (0 = ignore, 10 = top priority). The ranking updates instantly against your weights.

Affordability (rent)7Safety (low crime)3Schools (Ofsted Good+)1Connectivity (broadband)5Health (life expectancy)1Living cost (council tax)3Limit to region (optional)

Your top areas in England

1PeterboroughEast of England76.2
2IpswichEast of England76.1
3Southend-on-SeaEast of England75.9
4ErewashEast Midlands74.7
5DerbyEast Midlands74.4
6Bracknell ForestSouth East74.2
7Milton KeynesSouth East73.5
8LutonEast of England73.3
9BraintreeEast of England73.1
10Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands73.0
11GosportSouth East72.8
12Oadby and WigstonEast Midlands72.5
13SwindonSouth West72.3
14WorthingSouth East72.3
15ChesterfieldEast Midlands72.2
16FenlandEast of England71.9
17TorbaySouth West71.6
18MaldonEast of England71.4
19SouthamptonSouth East71.3
20BroxtoweEast Midlands71.2
21East CambridgeshireEast of England71.2
22LeicesterEast Midlands71.1
23Amber ValleyEast Midlands71.0
24Cannock ChaseWest Midlands71.0
25FarehamSouth East71.0

Score = your weights applied to each area’s real, normalised sub-scores. The underlying figures come from seven UK government open datasets — see the methodology.

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Sources (all Open Government Licence v3.0):

ONS — Price Index of Private Rents — as of May 2026.
HM Land Registry — UK House Price Index — as of April 2026.
MHCLG — Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England — as of 2026-27.
Ofcom — Connected Nations (Gera Broadband Index) — as of July 2024.
ONS — Life expectancy by local authority — as of 2017-19.
Ofsted — State-funded school inspection outcomes — as of 31 May 2026.
Home Office — Police recorded crime (PFA) + ONS population — as of Year ending December 2025.

Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright. Recorded-crime figures are neutral official statistics shown as context only and must not be used to characterise an area or its residents.