‘Pound for pound’ Bradford is better for graduates than any other city, says new report

Pound for pound, Bradford has been ranked #1 in the country by comparethemarket.com for university graduates.

The insurance platform’s new ‘ultimate graduate index’ compares factors such as job adverts, salaries, monthly rent prices, basic utilities’ costs - even the cost of a beer.

Bradford comes out on top in the UK in terms of value for money.

The survey notes: “Bradford is officially the best place for graduates to live. With the highest number of job opportunities out of all the top 10 cities, as well as low rent prices, Bradford has a great balance between excellent opportunities and low expenses.”

Rental costs are as little as £384.38, compared to £528.85 in Leeds and £437.58 in Wakefield - and the survey notes “buying a home becomes an achievable goal here”. Meanwhile, utility bills average around £121-a-month, compared to £127 in Leeds, the city has some of the lowest gym costs in the UK, and you can still buy a pint for £3 or less.

The top 10 cities ranked in order for value for money are Bradford, Carlisle, Preston, Coventry, Newcastle, Belfast, Stoke-On-Trent, Birmingham, Leicester, and Dundee.

Cities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton and Bath were ranked among the lowest in terms of affordability for graduates.

Supporting graduates

The University of Bradford was also recently ranked #1 in the country on the Social Mobility Index, a new way of ranking universities based on their ability to improve people’s social standing.

The University supports its graduates in many ways:-

• Bradford Graduate and Internship Programme (12-week paid internships) and Graduate Workforce Bradford - working in partnership with regional employers to increase employment opportunities for under/unemployed BME graduates
• 1:1 coaching and employability workshops, access to a graduate jobs portal, proactive follow-up and support in person and on-line
• Over the last 12 months, the University’s Career and Employability Services has provided services to 529 graduates, and its SkillsHouse Community Employment Coach has engaged with 223 graduates to provide follow-up support
• 74%* of its graduates have successfully progressed to employment 15 months after graduation, with 73% of those taking up highly-skilled professional and managerial roles (compared to 70% nationally)

*Overall employment figure for 2018/2019 is 74% and includes full-time employment (49%), part-time employment (12%), voluntary work (2%), employment and further study (11%).