At 24, Daniel Hughes would love to leave home and move in with his partner or friends in a flatshare.

However, after the struggles of getting a highly paid job after graduating and with the high cost of renting in London, where he lives, he knows that at the moment there is no chance of him moving out.

“I am getting to the stage where I would like to move out and be independent, but I haven’t bothered to even start looking as I know I could not afford to rent, even as a flatshare,” he says.

“I know people who have moved to London with a partner and I know the high prices they are paying in rent, so I don’t see the point of even considering it yet,” he said.

“Even though I am not flatsharing or renting, at the end of the month, I still sometimes run out of money – so there is no way I could afford it at this moment in time.”

New data analysis from flatshare site SpareRoom has found that graduates chasing job opportunities will need a minimum starting salary of £32,853 to afford to rent in Oxford, which is the area of the country identified by LinkedIn as having the fastest growth in entry-level roles.

London is fifth in LinkedIn’s ranking of UK areas for growth in entry-level jobs. But to afford rent in the capital, where an average room costs £978 a month, graduates need to aim for a minimum gross salary of £39,103, based on 30 per cent being the maximum recommended proportion of income spent on housing costs.

Graduates might be better off looking at Exeter, third in the rankings for rising entry-level job growth – and where the average room rent is just £662.

According to ONS data, the median annual salary for 22 to 29-year-olds in full-time employment is £29,855 – effectively pricing young people out of half of the top eight areas with the fastest year-on-year growth in entry-level roles.

Daniel, who now works as a researcher, told The i Paper that it was difficult to find a job related to his degree after graduating and he feels grateful to have secured employment. However, he says his salary is considerably lower than the £39,103 required to flatshare affordably in London, as shown by SpareRoom’s research.

“I studied French, Spanish and Portuguese at Bristol University and hoped to go into international relations or diplomacy after graduating in 2024,” he said.

“After I left uni, I decided I needed a break and wanted a temporary job to earn some money, so I worked as a delivery driver for Sainsbury’s for nine months and then I went travelling for five weeks around south east Asia.

“When I got back, I started pursuing my career plans and applying for job after job.”

Daniel applied for a whole range of different roles where he felt he could use his linguistic skills and knowledge and understanding of international relations. But people just were not getting back to him.

“It was incredibly disheartening to be ignored again and again,” he said.

“Eventually, I found a job through my friend’s mum who is a director of an executive search firm specialising in Africa. I’m able to use my French and I’m so grateful to have a job.”

However, Daniel says that there is no chance he can afford to rent, even in a flatshare, on what he is earning now.

“I do have some decent savings from my previous job and I try to save where I can in my current role, but I know that if I rented, those savings would quickly disappear,” he says.

Daniel lives in south west London with his parents and his younger sister who is in her final year at university. He knows he is lucky as he pays his parents between £200 and £300 a month on board and does not have to worry about food and bills.

But it costs him around £200 a month commuting into work.

He says: “I am grateful to be living at home with my family as it means I can make my salary last and have more disposable income. It also gives me a chance to save up for when I do move out.

“Young people who are in my situation and living in a city are left with nothing or even a negative balance if they are renting and having to pay everything themselves.

“I am 24 and from my school friends back home, apart from one person, all of them still live at home. Out of my uni friends, the ones who aren’t living at home, none of them live in London.”

Daniel added: “Ideally, I would like to be living with my partner or friends by now, but financially, I cannot afford to. My partner earns less than I do and she doesn’t live in London.

“A lot of people who aren’t of my generation don’t understand how difficult it is for young people. We have the same expectations that people had 50 years ago, but we’re having to pay a lot more for things like rent and the cost of living.”

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said: “Graduates chasing job opportunities and looking to relocate may find affordable rooms are scarce because rents – although no longer rising dramatically – haven’t seen any meaningful decreases either.

“Under 25s are in steady decline in the rental market because grads today aren’t only contending with high rents. Student loan repayments reduce disposable income at a time when the basic cost of living – including energy bills, food and fuel – is sky high.

“So it is little wonder more young people aren’t leaving home, even if it does limit their career opportunities.”