Where is Imperial College London?

South Kensington Campus is at Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ.

What is the cheapest area to live near Imperial College London?

Of the areas Boroughly covers near South Kensington Campus, Harlesden has the lowest estimated monthly room rent at around £850. The cheapest rent is not always the cheapest option once travel is included.

Boroughly · Universities · Imperial College London

London · South Kensington Campus

Best areas to live for Imperial College London students

In short: Imperial's main campus is in South Kensington, with museums, green space and excellent Tube connections right outside the door. Across the 12 areas below, an estimated room runs from about £850 a month in Harlesden to £1,725 in Kensington.

Campus

South Kensington Campus

Postcode

SW7 2AZ

Areas ranked

Cheapest room

Harlesden · £850

Where the campus actually is

South Kensington Campus · Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open larger map

Check your site before you sign. Imperial also teaches from White City (W12 0BZ). This page ranks areas around South Kensington Campus. If your department is elsewhere, the answer changes.

12 areas ranked by what a room costs

Cheapest first. These are the Boroughly areas within reach of South Kensington Campus, with a per-room rate for a shared house and a self-contained studio rate for each.

Areas near campus ranked by monthly room rent, cheapest first
#	Area	Roomper month	Studioper month	To campusdoor to door	Route	Late nights
1	HarlesdenBrent · 6.8 km from campus	£850^†	£1,250^†	49 min	Bakerloo line → Mildmay → District line	Night buses only - the nearest Night Tube or night Overground station is a bus or taxi ride away.
2	ActonEaling · 6.6 km from campus	£925^†	£1,375^†	48 min	bus E3 → District line → 16 min walk	Central and Piccadilly line Night Tube (Fri/Sat); night buses every night
3	WillesdenBrent · 7.1 km from campus	£925^†	£1,375^†	58 min	14 min walk → Jubilee line → bus 9	Jubilee line Night Tube (Fri/Sat); night buses every night
4	EarlsfieldWandsworth · 6.4 km from campus	£1,025^†	£1,475^†	47 min	South Western Railway → Mildmay → District line	Night buses only - the nearest Night Tube or night Overground station is a bus or taxi ride away.
5	FulhamH&F · 2.8 km from campus	£1,200^†	£1,750^†	33 min	8 min walk → District line → 16 min walk	Night buses only - the nearest Night Tube or night Overground station is a bus or taxi ride away.
6	HammersmithH&F · 3.1 km from campus	£1,200^†	£1,750^†	28 min	bus 9	Piccadilly line Night Tube (Fri/Sat); night buses every night
7	Maida ValeWestminster · 3.1 km from campus	£1,250^†	£1,825^†	45 min	9 min walk → bus 46 → Circle line	Night buses only - the nearest Night Tube or night Overground station is a bus or taxi ride away.
8	PaddingtonWestminster · 1.9 km from campus	£1,350^†	£1,975^†	27 min	Circle line → bus Y70	Night buses only - the nearest Night Tube or night Overground station is a bus or taxi ride away.
9	Notting HillK&C · 2.3 km from campus	£1,500^†	£2,200^†	32 min	11 min walk → bus Y52	Central line Night Tube (Fri/Sat); night buses every night
10	MaryleboneWestminster · 3.0 km from campus	£1,600^†	£2,350^†	39 min	bus 2 → bus Y52	Jubilee and Central line Night Tube (Fri/Sat); night buses every night
11	ChelseaK&C · 1.5 km from campus	£1,675^†	£2,425^†	22 min	11 min walk → bus 360	Night buses only - the nearest Night Tube or night Overground station is a bus or taxi ride away.
12	KensingtonK&C · 1.0 km from campus	£1,725^†	£2,500^†	15 min	9 min walk → bus Y70	Piccadilly line Night Tube (Fri/Sat); night buses every night

Three areas that look cheap and usually aren't

These areas advertise some of the lowest rents on the list. Once the journey is counted, they stop being the cheap option for someone at South Kensington Campus. That does not make them bad places to live — it means the headline rent is not the number to compare.

WillesdenA room is about £925 a month, which puts it among the cheaper options here. The journey is 58 minutes each way, against 15 minutes from Kensington. Over a teaching year that difference is roughly 215 hours, before you add the fare for the extra distance.
HarlesdenA room is about £850 a month, which puts it among the cheaper options here. The journey is 49 minutes each way, against 15 minutes from Kensington. Over a teaching year that difference is roughly 170 hours, before you add the fare for the extra distance.
ActonA room is about £925 a month, which puts it among the cheaper options here. The journey is 48 minutes each way, against 15 minutes from Kensington. Over a teaching year that difference is roughly 165 hours, before you add the fare for the extra distance.

Compare these areas side by side

The table above ranks on rent alone. Every area links to a full Boroughly guide with all seven life scores — safety, schools, green space, transport, diversity, LGBTQ+ friendliness and buzz — so you can see what the cheaper rent is costing you.

Open the map and build your own shortlist

What to weigh up before you commit

The cheapest postcode is rarely the cheapest option overall. Add the travel cost to the rent before comparing anything, then add the time: an extra 20 minutes each way is roughly 130 hours over a teaching year. A more expensive room that removes that journey can be the better deal even in cash terms.

Check the route at the hour you will actually travel. Something that takes 25 minutes at midday can take 40 in the morning peak, and an evening lab or a late rehearsal puts you on a very different network. If you will be coming home after midnight, read the late-night column before the rent column.

Then look at what a viewing will not tell you. Boroughly's area guides score every one of these neighbourhoods on safety, green space, amenities and transport, using the same method as the rest of the site.

How these numbers were worked out

Areas are the Boroughly areas nearest the campus postcode, then filtered to those with rent data and ranked cheapest first.
Rent marked † figures are modelled from Boroughly's two-bedroom estimate for the same area, not observed listings. Use them to compare areas against each other, not as a quote. Two-bed figures come from the same dataset as the rest of the site.
Commute is a door-to-door public transport journey from the centre of each area to the campus postcode, requested from Transport for London's journey planner for a weekday arrival at 09:00. Your own door will differ by a few minutes.
Late nights: Night Tube and night Overground run Friday and Saturday only. Night buses run every night across London. Check TfL before relying on any of it.
All of this is a comparison aid. Before signing anything, use your university's accommodation service — most run free contract checks and approved-landlord lists.

Browse more student locations

See all university guides or open the Boroughly map and build your own shortlist.

Check Imperial's own campus and accommodation information · Imperial College Union usually runs a housing advice service too.