In big cities, Russian students have to spend half of their earnings on rent. In Moscow, it is even more, or 80% of income, according to the Avito.Rabota analytics center.
On average, students make RUR 32K ($517) a month. Moscow offers the highest pay of up to RUR 45K ($727). Monthly wages in St Petersburg are slightly lower, RUR 39K ($630).
Interestingly, the lowest student income was found in Volgograd, Izhevsk and Ulyanovsk where employers rarely pay students more than RUR 25K ($404), TASS reports.
Most of these earnings go to rent. In Moscow, students pay RUR 35K ($565) for a one-room apartment in a sleeper neighborhood away from the city center. Rent accounts for 78% of a student income. In St Petersburg, rent is cheaper (RUR 22K or $355) and eats up only 56% of a monthly pay.
Students in Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and other cities with a population of over 1 mio also spend at least 50% of their income on rent. A one-room apartment in these cities will cost RUR 15K ($242).