The article deals with the actual problems of scientific research of social well-being of students. Attention is drawn to both the objective and, in particular, the subjective aspects of this phenomenon and its study. The interpretation of a number of methodological approaches to the study of social well-being is given. Almost for the first time, as a whole object of research, students of universities and colleges are analyzed within the framework of a single social community, and the common features and specific characteristics of each of these educational communities are shown on the basis of empirical data. For the first time, the data of the mass online survey of 2021, dedicated to the study of current social problems of students, are introduced into scientific circulation.