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Cost of living for students in Ireland

Realistic weekly budgets by city: house-share rent (≈¼ of RTB whole-property rent) plus food, transport, utilities and leisure from the Household Budget Survey. Most students share a house rather than rent alone.

House share assumes one room in a typical 4-bed home — about ¼ of RTB whole-property rent. Not a digs listing price.

See the most affordable ILEP schools →

Updated 7/21/2026

Waterford
Affordable
  • House share (1 of 4)€152
  • Food & groceries€48
  • Transport (Leap)€26
  • Utilities & phone€22
  • Leisure & extras€24
  • Weekly total€272
Rest of Ireland
Mid-range
  • House share (1 of 4)€165
  • Food & groceries€48
  • Transport (Leap)€26
  • Utilities & phone€22
  • Leisure & extras€24
  • Weekly total€285
Limerick
Mid-range
  • House share (1 of 4)€178
  • Food & groceries€50
  • Transport (Leap)€28
  • Utilities & phone€23
  • Leisure & extras€25
  • Weekly total€303
Galway
Mid-range
  • House share (1 of 4)€190
  • Food & groceries€54
  • Transport (Leap)€30
  • Utilities & phone€24
  • Leisure & extras€27
  • Weekly total€325
Cork
Mid-range
  • House share (1 of 4)€203
  • Food & groceries€56
  • Transport (Leap)€31
  • Utilities & phone€25
  • Leisure & extras€28
  • Weekly total€343
Dublin
Expensive
  • House share (1 of 4)€279
  • Food & groceries€64
  • Transport (Leap)€35
  • Utilities & phone€29
  • Leisure & extras€32
  • Weekly total€439

Weekly totals do not include visa/immigration fees, private medical insurance, flights, rental deposits, or course tuition.

Rent: RTB Standardised Average Rent (CSO PxStat RIQ02, student share ≈55%). Other costs: CSO Household Budget Survey + Leap card baseline. https://data.cso.ie/table/RIQ02