15 Best College Towns for Student Renters

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Porch.

Rising rents have been hitting many U.S. households hard in recent months. After remaining flat for most of 2020, the national median rent rose by 17.6% in 2021 and is already up another 6.7% year-over-year in 2022. And as the largest regular expense that most households face, the rise in housing costs is squeezing budgets in every other category.

Price pressures from rent are especially challenging for college students, especially first-generation college students and students from low-income families. Students often lack the rental history or savings for deposits that help them get approved for a rental.

Academic obligations may limit students’ ability to work and earn money to put toward rent, so they frequently take out more in loans to cover living costs in addition to tuition and fees. And while many colleges offer housing to students, on-campus housing supply is not always sufficient to meet student demand — and, in some cases, may not even be more affordable than off-campus options.

As a result of these issues, students often struggle to find adequate housing. According to research from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, tens of thousands of college students are homeless.

Students’ challenges with finding housing also have consequences for their success in school. Research has found statistically significant relationships between housing insecurity and college persistence and completion. The insecurity can also lead to greater stress, worse physical health, and an increased incidence of depression.

Students struggle the most with housing costs in locations where housing is expensive for all renters.

The data used in this analysis is from the Nation Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Regional Price Parities.

Here are the best U.S. metropolitan areas for student renters.

15. Salt Lake City, UT

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $10,339
• Average on-campus room and board: $9,666
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -2.3%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 28,505
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 9,026

14. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $10,279
• Average on-campus room and board: $10,834
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -5.3%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 36,699
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 12,290

13. Jacksonville, FL

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $10,224
• Average on-campus room and board: $9,508
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -3.7%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 46,044
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 3,685

12. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,935
• Average on-campus room and board: $9,872
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -2.1%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 49,064
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 11,313

11. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,848
• Average on-campus room and board: $9,559
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -7.3%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 23,779
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 5,255

10. Rochester, NY

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,801
• Average on-campus room and board: $14,406
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -1.7%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 40,593
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 11,667

9. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,726
• Average on-campus room and board: $13,124
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): +2.6%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 67,484
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 11,851

8. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,563
• Average on-campus room and board: $11,675
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -5.4%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 42,557
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 8,942

7. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,557
• Average on-campus room and board: $14,780
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): +1.2%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 60,751
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 12,021

6. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,453
• Average on-campus room and board: $5,577
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -1.3%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 133,668
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 11,614

5. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,441
• Average on-campus room and board: $7,610
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -0.9%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 86,770
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 13,311

4. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $9,342
• Average on-campus room and board: $7,212
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -2.9%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 69,820
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 18,179

3. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $7,953
• Average on-campus room and board: $9,484
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -8.1%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 27,085
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 12,335

2. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $7,745
• Average on-campus room and board: $11,452
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -3.0%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 48,532
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 16,695

1. Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI

• Average off-campus room and board (not with family): $7,156
• Average on-campus room and board: $9,990
• Overall cost of living (compared to average): -5.3%
• Total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 34,691
• Total graduate enrollment (Fall 2020): 4,812

Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Regional Price Parities. To determine the best locations for student renters, researchers at Porch calculated the weighted average of off-campus room and board (not including those living with family) for the 2020-2021 academic year, with lower values being ranked higher. In the event of a tie, the location with the lower weighted average of on-campus room and board was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included. Additionally, metros were grouped into cohorts based on population size: small (100,000–349,999), midsize (350,000–999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more). Additionally, schools, where a majority of students attended through distance learning (remote/online), were not considered in this analysis.

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