Cost of Living
Cost of Living, Income and Accommodation for Marburg Students
The German Student Services conduct a thorough written survey every three years, questioning students in Germany about their social situations. The last survey was completed in 2003 with the following results:
Living Costs
Unfortunately the study does not provide information on the average monthly total expenditures of the students. However, a list of monthly student expenditures according to the source of the costs is provided in the table below. These numbers are valid for an “average” student in Marburg, i.e. students who do not live with their parents, are single and completing their first university degrees. Students who do not incur these costs (0) were not included in the average.
The “average” student in Marburg pays monthly on average (in Euros):
Rent, including extra expenses such as electricity, heat, water, waste disposal, etc. * :239 €
Meals (groceries and beverages, including meals at the cafeteria or in restaurants) :162 €
Clothes :56 €
Learning materials: 45 €
Regular costs for a car (0=61.5 %) :117 €
Public transport :34 €
Health insurance (0=49.7 %) :47 €
Telephone, internet, radio/TV fees, postage:45 €
* Of the questioned “average” students, the costs for rent (including extra expenses) were spread accordingly:
9,0 % :151 - 175 €
17,2 % :176 - 200 €
54,7 %: 201 - 300 €
Average costs of rent in Marburg are comparable with average costs of rent at all German universities at € 250, and at Universities in Hesse at € 265.
Income
The “average“ students of Marburg in summer semester 2003 had the average income of:
Cash :649 €
„Non-cash“ earnings (from parents or partners) :165 €
Total monthly income ** : 733 €
** 30.9 Percent of these students had up to € 600 average total available monthly, 24.3 Percent had € 601 to € 700 und 18.5 Percent had € 701 to € 800.
Accommodation
The accommodation for the students interviewed were distributed as follows:
Home with parents or relatives: 8,3 %
Student housing/dormitories :13,0 %
In a rented or owned flat/apartment alone: 18,6 %
In a rented or owned flat/apartment with a partner and/or child: 15,9 %
Flat/Apartment-sharing: 40,9 %
In a sub-leased private housing flat/apartment: 3,3 %
The division of costs dependent on type of housing are not available solely for Marburg, therefore the costs on average for the West German states is provided below.
Type of Housing Rent
Student housing/dormitories :187 €
In a sub-leased private housing flat/apartment: 215 €
Flat/Apartment-sharing in a rented/owned flat/apartment: 243 €
In a rented or owned flat/apartment with a partner and/or child :276 €
In a rented or owned flat/apartment alone: 306 €
