Many Cardiff students are as likely to work in a bar as drink in one

They earn more than �90 a week on average, and are set to make a total of �21m over the next year.

The Royal Bank of Scotland study found only students in Glasgow and Cambridge earned more.

A third of Cardiff students work part-time to earn extra money, with the most popular jobs in bars or restaurants.

The money helps them subsidise the �130m they will spend on accommodation and living costs for a year.

The Student Living Index analysed 21 locations across the UK to find the most cost-effective place to live while in university.

Cardiff students' spending Accommodation - �41m Alcohol - �17m Food shopping - �9m Clothes - �9m Transport - �6.5m Utility bills - �6m Going out - �6m Books and course materials - �1.5m

Cardiff was ranked fifth overall, with its combination of low weekly living costs and relatively high levels of income from part-time work.

Students in the Welsh capital work on average 17.4 hours per week, significantly higher than the UK average of 15 hours, according to the report.

But they are better rewarded - they take home �92.16 each week, more than 10% above the UK average of �81.80.

One in three say they earn more than �120 per week.

Accommodation will take �41m from Cardiff undergraduates' budgets over the academic year.

However, the next highest expenditure - perhaps unsurprisingly to many people, is on alcohol - and they are expected to spend �17m, which is more than the UK average.

Andrea Aitken-Paige, head of student banking at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "Just 25% of Cardiff students say they took cost of living into account when preparing for university and 28% claim they weren't prepared for managing their student finances.

"The key to getting it right at university is forward planning.