Why Sheffield students are one of the city’s best economic investments
Are students a seasonal inconvenience or one of Sheffield’s smartest long-term investments?
Every September, thousands of students arrive in Sheffield to study, and with them they bring a generous amount of economic power. Jerry Cheung, Managing Director at New Era Living and President of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry, gives his view ...
It’s easy to think of student spending as just pocket change circulating through corner shops, takeaways and bars, but the reality is that student spending extends far wider.
A study done by the University of Sheffield last year shows that they alone have generated more than £4.82 billion for the UK economy, which equates to a £6.40 return for every £1 invested into the university. More than half of that regional impact lands in Yorkshire and the Humber, with over 80% of it staying right here in South Yorkshire.
International students add another significant layer, with recent analysis valuing their benefit to the city at £770 million. That's money being contributed to the Sheffield economy through rent paid, meals bought, and transport used across the city.
What is crucial to the economic picture here in Sheffield is that more University of Sheffield graduates stay in Yorkshire and the Humber after finishing their degrees than graduates from any other higher education institution in the region.
When you think about how our students are supporting our regional economy, it’s not just about the three years they are studying here; instead, it’s the bigger picture of how many students stay in the city, becoming employees, founders, and taxpayers, contributing to our communities in the long term.
Good student housing isn't just about beds, but rather it's infrastructure that determines whether a city can compete for students in the first place, and whether those students want to put down roots once they graduate. Purpose-built accommodation like our offering at New Era Living supports a wide supply chain of local trades, hospitality, and services, and it shapes the first impression students form of Sheffield as a place worth staying in.
If we want to keep capturing the kind of retention numbers our universities are already achieving, the city needs to keep investing in the quality and availability of student housing and not treat it as an afterthought to the wider growth story.
As Chamber president, I hear from SMEs, retailers, and hospitality businesses across the city who feel this impact directly, even if they've never seen the underlying figures. A resident student population means footfall in quieter months, a flexible labour pool for businesses that need it, and a pipeline of future employees who already know the city.
The debate about students nationally can get tangled up in politics and pressure on housing stock, but locally, the picture is much simpler. Sheffield's students are already delivering billions in economic value, tens of thousands of volunteer hours, and a growing share of the graduates who choose to build their futures here. The smartest thing this city can do is keep investing in the conditions students need to thrive, from housing to transport and business links.
Students aren't a cost Sheffield bears. They're a return the city has already started collecting.