Lincoln is a thriving cathedral city of around 100,000 inhabitants, and the country town of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands. From its Iron Age origins, Roman histories, and medieval architecture, Lincoln is a rich cultural environment with plenty of ancient and modern attractions for you to enjoy. The city’s home to two major unis, and offers a great night out too, with lots of student pubs, bars and nightclubs to discover. If you’re thinking about studying here and want to know a bit more about what to expect, then you’re in luck. Our guide breaks down various aspects of Lincoln’s cost of living and explains how to live well on a student budget.
Lincoln is home to two major universities, and if you choose to study an undergraduate degree at either of them, you’ll very likely be paying an annual tuition fee of £9,250, in line with government guidelines (this will be rising to £9,535 from the 2025/26 academic year). While this sounds like a lot to afford, most students offset the cost by taking out a tuition fee loan from their nation’s student finance company. The loan is paid directly to your uni at the start of each year and doesn’t need to be repaid until you graduate and earn over the repayment threshold for your plan.
There’s also a maintenance loan option, which aims to support additional university costs such as accommodation, transport, food, and other expenses. The loan amount is assessed based on your household income and can be worth up to around £10,000 per year.
Another way to subsidise the cost of your studies is to apply for a scholarship or bursary scheme, which are awarded for both merit-based and means-tested criteria. The University of Lincoln has more than 30 financial awards for undergraduate students, including the University of Lincoln Scholarship, which nearly half of new UK undergraduates currently qualify for and is valued at £1,500 over three years of study. Similarly, Bishop Grosseteste University has a range of options for both UK and International students, so check out their website for details on eligibility.
There are several ways to source affordable accommodation in Lincoln, and as a first-year student, living in university-owned halls of residence is a great place to start. There are options to suit various budgets and room preferences, residences are typically close to your uni campus, and provide lots of convenient services – not to mention a fun and sociable atmosphere.
Bishop Grosseteste University has three halls of residence to choose from, with prices starting at around £127 per week for a single room with shared facilities. The University of Lincoln provides a range of single rooms at six different halls of residence, ranging in price between £99 – £191 per week. The advantage of staying in halls of residence accommodation is that all utilities bills, including WiFi, and contents insurance are covered in the rental fee and, importantly, contract lengths match your academic term dates so that you won’t be paying for accommodation if you choose to spend the summer elsewhere.
Another option is to rent a place locally, and this is where Lincoln’s low cost of living really starts to work in your favour. A one-bedroom apartment in the city centre costs only £730 per month on average, and a three-bedroom apartment that you can share with friends costs around £870 per month, which works out at less than £300 per person per month. These prices are significantly lower than most of the UK and are around 30% lower than in nearby Nottingham.
Lincoln is a historic market town and continues in this tradition with a range of different markets scheduled throughout the week. You can find great deals on fresh produce here, and the city is also serviced by big-name supermarket brands and low-cost outlets, so you’ll be able to keep grocery costs within budget. Average prices for commonly bought food and drinks items are:
Milk (1L): £1.04
Bread Loaf: £0.94
Rice (1kg): £1.97
Eggs (12): £2.85
Cheese (1kg): £6.64
Chicken fillets (1kg): £6.64
Apples (1kg): £2.37
Potatoes (1kg): £0.65
We advise that you pick up a loyalty card to your favourite grocery store and use it to collect points which can be later used to buy products at discount prices.
Lincoln has many great places to go out and loads of options for evening entertainment. Most of the best pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs are clustered around the city centre which makes it easy for you to hop around from place to place without taking the bus or getting an expensive taxi.
An inexpensive meal out costs an average of £19, and a meal for two at a mid-range restaurant will run to around £60, which is about £10 less expensive than in London. You can usually get a pint of domestic or imported beer for less than £5 and keep an eye out for student bars and nightclubs which offer weekly drinks deals and discounted entry.
Your uni’s students’ union bar is a great place to start your night, since it’ll offer the best drinks prices in town, and will likely be full of your classmates and peers.
The best and cheapest way to get around Lincoln is, of course, by foot or by bike. The city is small enough that you can easily walk between your uni, accommodation, and the town centre, and there’s places to lock up your bike wherever you go. Hire bikes are also available and have the benefit of being able to be used for one-way journeys.
The best means of public transport is by bus. Lincoln has a network of bus routes which make it quick and easy to get around. A one-way ticket averages £2.90 which is actually quite expensive compared with most other UK cities, however, if you’re going to be using the bus regularly then it’s probably worth getting a monthly travel pass. These start around £65, which would bring the cost down to around £2 per day for unlimited travel. That’s more like it!
As a student in Lincoln, you’ll probably benefit from including a few extra things in your monthly budget. Firstly, clubs and societies. Your uni will have loads of them to choose from and they’re a great way to try something new and meet like-minded individuals. Many of them are free or cheap to join, but they might include future expenses for things like equipment, events, or field trips. Have some cash set aside for this, and you’ll never miss out. Similarly, your course may require extra reading material, supplies, or even just printer credits for those end-of-term essays. By keeping a small fund available for this, you’ll always be prepared for success.
Overall, depending on your lifestyle and your accommodation choices, we'd recommend budgeting around £900 per month living in Lincoln, which is definitely considerably cheaper than