After years of living away at university – degree secured, independence gained, life skills learnt – moving back home can be a difficult transition, and one most graduates hope will be fleeting.

But with the cost of living so high, it may be years, rather than months, before flying the nest for good is even a possibility.

Renting, even a room in a flat or house share, has become less and less affordable in recent years. One of the knock-on effects is that under 25s in the flatshare market are in decline. A decade ago this age group made up almost a third (32%) of flatsharers on SpareRoom. Today it’s close to a quarter (26%), suggesting entry-level wages across many industries haven’t kept pace with the cost of renting.

It’s not just under 25s either. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found the proportion of 25 to 34 year olds still living with their parents has increased by more than a third in nearly two decades, with the trend being driven by men, and those in their late 20s. The most significant reasons behind the change? High renting costs and rising house prices.

The average UK room rent has risen 30% in five years. Energy bills, food and fuel prices are sky-high, and working graduates have to consider the impact of student loan repayments on their budgets too. In short, there are multiple financial barriers to leaving home.

I’m a graduate, can I afford to rent?

To keep things affordable, it’s generally recommended that you don’t spend more than 30% of your gross income on rent. So, if you earn £30K a year, you should aim to not spend more than £9,000 a year on rent, or £750 per month.

That means, to live in London, where the average monthly room rent is now £978 per month, you’d need to be earning a minimum of £39,103 per year.

Not many entry-level roles come with £39K starting salaries, even in London. So, for many renters, the 30% affordability rule has been unrealistic for a long time. It’s not unusual for people to be spending 40% or even 50% of their income on rent, which can make saving impossible, and can push them into debt. It’s easy to see why more young adults who still have the option to live with their parents are staying for longer, even if it does limit their career opportunities.

I want to move out, what are my options?

We crunched the numbers and identified two cities which have winning combinations of fastest rising entry-level job opportunities in the UK and below-average monthly rents. They are Nottingham – which still has sub-£600 average room rents (£581 per month) – and Exeter, where the average room rent in Exeter is £662 per month. According to LinkedIn, both these cities are within the top eight entry-level job hotspots.

The other six locations that have seen the highest year-on-year rise in entry-level roles can be seen in the table below, alongside the average rent and average salary required to live affordably in each location.

If you’re set on leaving home ASAP, here are some things to think about before you start making contact with other SpareRoom users:

What is the average rent for the city or town I would like to live in? This list is updated every three months with the latest available average room rents.
Is my salary high enough? What percentage of my pay (before taxes) will be spent on rent? If it’s more than 30%, consider your other outgoings and draw up a budget.
How much will it cost me to commute to work?
Are bills included in the rent? If not, what do the existing housemates spend on bills?

If you’ve worked through the steps above, and it looks like you’ll be stretched too thin, there are ways to keep your living costs down:

Look for rooms in larger house shares which tend to be cheaper than small flatshares, especially when it comes to splitting bills.
Consider cheaper areas close to the more popular areas everyone wants to live in.
Consider room ads placed by ‘live-in landlords’ looking for lodgers to share their homes. While living with your landlord might sound like a strange arrangement, some renters prefer it, and the rent is usually a bit cheaper. Just be aware that as a lodger you have less protection than tenants, so it’s important to know the key differences.