Beijing and Shanghai are among the top sources of Chinese students studying overseas, and the students prefer two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments over other accommodations, according to a report released on Monday.

In the United States, such apartments are the top choice of Chinese students between 18 and 26 years of age, as they tend to share with their fellow students, according to the 2016 Overseas Student Accommodation Report.

The report was released by student.com, a global platform for students seeking housing overseas. It covers student housing prices in the UK, the US and Australia, and was based on the average listed price for properties on the student.com website.

The UK-based company processed housing bookings worth $110 million last year by students from more than 100 countries. Half of the bookings came from Chinese students overseas, according to Luke Nolan, founder and CEO of the company.

Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, Jiangsu province, are the top three sources of Chinese students overseas.

"There's no surprise when you see these top cities," Nolan said. "But students are coming from all over the country. It's great to see not only how significant the numbers are but also the diverse destinations the students are going to. Almost every city in China has students going to a huge range of destinations, including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France and Germany."

In 2015, more than 520,000 Chinese students went overseas to study, an increase of 14 percent from 2014. More than 300,000 of the students headed to the US. The UK issued 71,000 visas to Chinese students last year and is the second-most popular destination overseas.

According to the report, safety is one of the most important considerations for Chinese students overseas when seeking housing. Location and price are also among their top concerns.

Other factors, such as how much sunlight their room receives, which floor their apartment is on and potential roommates are also particularly important.

It also found that New York City, with average weekly rental of $526, is the costliest destination for international students from all over the world. London ranked sixth on the list, while Sydney, Australia, was 10th.

At a glance

Ten most expensive cities for international students:

1. New York City, US

2. San Francisco, US

3. Berkeley, US

4. La Jolla, US

5. Boston, US

6. London, UK

7. Edinburgh, UK

8. Cambridge, UK

9. Oxford, UK

10. Sydney, Australia

Top 10 origin cities of Chinese studying overseas:

1. Beijing

2. Shanghai

3. Nanjing, Jiangsu province

4. Guangzhou, Guangdong province

5. Chengdu, Sichuan province

6. Wuhan, Hubei province

7. Shenzhen, Guangdong province

8. Shenyang, Liaoning province

9. Hangzhou, Zhejiang province

10. Xi'an, Shaanxi province

Source: student.com