Are you looking for student accommodation for the start of the school year, but you can’t necessarily find the right fit? It must be said that the price of rent has only increased in recent years, since it follows inflation. Business Cool has prepared for you the ranking of the 25 cities which offer the lowest rents to help you find the apartment made for you!
Once enrolled in business school, engineering school or even university, a question will potentially arise: that of student accommodation. This is a real headache, because you have to juggle several criteria: location of the apartment or studio and its proximity to living spaces or your school, quality of housing, spaces… But the one of the most determining criteria is the price of the rent. To help you, we have compiled the list of the 25 cities which offer the lowest rent in France!
Methodology for ranking the 25 cities that offer the lowest rent
To make this classification, we based ourselves on the data of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. In 2022, the institution carried out a huge survey to list the average rent per square meter for all housing in France. To create the list of 25 cities offering the lowest rent in France, we relied solely on data from the apartment-related survey. We then calculated the amount of rent for a 20m² apartment based on information from the Ministry of Ecological Transition’s survey.
Disclaimer: the data published in this ranking dates from 2022. With inflation, certain accommodations may have seen their rent increase since the publication of the ministry’s survey. Furthermore, this is an average for the entire city. Thus, certain apartments may offer much higher or much lower rents. This ranking of cities that offer the lowest rents is an indicator to help you navigate a specific geographic area. On the other hand, it remains important to carefully look at the rents and other services around the apartment you wish to visit.
The ranking of the 25 cities which offer the lowest rents
| Rank | City | Department | Nearest major cities | Average rent per square meter | Rent for a 20m² studio |
| 1 | Darney | Vosges | Épinal, Nancy | 5.75 €/m² | €114.94 |
| 2 | Chassenon | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 3 | Montrollet | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 4 | Saint-Maurice-des-Lions | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 5 | Massignac | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 6 | Mouterre-sur-Blourde | Vienna | Limoges, Poitiers | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 7 | Millac | Vienna | Limoges, Poitiers | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 8 | Gajoubert | Haute-Vienne | Limoges, Poitiers | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 9 | Saint-Auvent | Haute-Vienne | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 10 | Nouic | Haute-Vienne | Limoges, Poitiers | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 11 | Brillac | Charente | Limoges, Poitiers | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 12 | Ansac-sur-Vienne | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 13 | Étagnac | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 14 | Pressignac | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 15 | Saulgond | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 16 | Saillat-sur-Vienne | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 17 | Chirac | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 18 | Chabrac | Charente | Limoges, Angoulême | 5.84 €/m² | €116.74 |
| 19 | Fontanges | Cantal | Brive-la-Gaillarde, Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
| 20 | Lugarde | Cantal | Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
| 21 | Le Falgoux | Cantal | Brive-la-Gaillarde, Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
| 22 | Anglards-de-Salers | Cantal | Brive-la-Gaillarde, Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
| 23 | Tremouille | Cantal | Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
| 24 | Saint-Bonnet-de-Salers | Cantal | Brive-la-Gaillarde, Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
| 25 | Virargues | Cantal | Clermont-Ferrand | 5.88 €/m² | €117.63 |
Analysis of the ranking of the least expensive cities in France
In this ranking of the 25 cities that offer the lowest rents, we can see several things. The first is that these are small towns which are sometimes quite far from large cities. If some, like the towns of Charente, allow you to reach Limoges, Poitiers or Angoulême in around thirty minutes by car, others, like the towns of Cantal, are sometimes more than an hour from Clermont-Ferrand.
Indeed, rent savings have a cost, which is not financial, but which can be: that of time. You will have to travel regularly to access large cities, your university or your school, thus incurring expenses linked to gasoline, wear and tear on your vehicle or a train subscription. So, this table can potentially be more useful if you want to be truly calm and isolated. Indeed, if you want to have a life rich in outings with friends and take full advantage of the student experience, this ranking is not for you.
It should also be mentioned that, most of the time, what influences the amount of rent is also and above all the ability to attract residents. Popular cities like Paris are among the most expensive metropolises in France, but it’s also because they are extremely attractive. They offer a good number of jobs and services, ranging from access to public transport to schools, but also a plethora of cultural, gastronomic, tourist and sporting activities.
So, before choosing your student accommodation, it is important to keep in mind that the price of the rent should not be the only determining criterion in your choice. On the other hand, if you are not attached to going out and you are not afraid to travel a bit to get to your school, this ranking of the 25 cities which offer the lowest rents is made for you !
