Aberystwyth has been named the UK’s “most inclusive” place to be a student in a new league table, edging out York, Durham and Bath.

The West Wales university town scored 8.24 out of 10 in research by student accommodation platform UniHomes, which ranked 40 university towns and cities according to nightlife costs, student societies and the availability of cafés, bookshops and parks.

Aberystwyth was credited with 14 free societies per 1,000 students, 301 “alternative venues” per 100,000 people and an estimated night out costing £18.18.

That “night out”, however, consists only of one pint, one nightclub entry ticket and a 3km taxi journey, rather than an estimate of what a student might actually spend across an evening.

Those figures pushed it narrowly ahead of York, which scored 8.17, while Durham, Bath and Norwich completed the top five.

However, the headline claim comes with substantial caveats.

The study does not directly measure inclusivity, student satisfaction, accessibility, diversity or how welcome students actually feel. Instead, UniHomes gives equal weight to three proxy measures, meaning coffee shops, parks and bookshops contribute as much towards the final score as societies or nightlife costs.

Its “alternative venues” figure is also calculated per 100,000 residents, which can favour comparatively small places such as Aberystwyth when set against much larger cities.

The societies score uses only the largest university in each location, while the nightlife calculation represents a limited basket of costs rather than a typical full night out.

Lian Chambers, head of marketing at UniHomes, said: “Most cities genuinely do have something for everyone, and students should be encouraged to pursue the uni experience which is right for them, rather than the one they’re expected to have.”

Despite the methodology’s limitations, Aberystwyth’s placing highlights the range of societies and social options available in the university town.