College Towns with The Fastest Growing Rents

To accommodate for back to school season, we at Zumper have published this study on top college towns throughout the nation. We looked at close to 50 college towns spread throughout the U.S and compared year over year rental data to show which areas had the largest growths or the biggest dips so students and residents alike can see if they are getting a good deal on their apartments.

Top 10 College Towns with The Fastest Growing Rents

1. Gainesville, FL – University of Florida

With the University of Florida being the 8th largest university in the country, the demand driven by students looking for housing is most likely a large factor attributing to the almost 17% year over year growth rate.

2. Ann Arbor, MI – University of Michigan

Offering both outdoorsy activities as well as city vibes, Ann Arbor residents are feeling the nearly 16% year over year spike in rent, most likely due to demand from both students and the many people who have graduated that have chosen to stay. One bed rent here is almost $1,000.

3. Panama City, FL – Gulf Coast State College

Looking over the Gulf of Mexico, Panama City boasts stunning beaches and nightlife. Students living in this college town, however, are battling with over a 15% year over year rental growth rate probably due to these amazing amenities. Panama City is also the second Florida city to make the top 3.

4. State College, PA – Pennsylvania State University

Aptly named, State College houses University of Pennsylvania students along with tons of families due to the city’s quaint and safe reputation. However, because of this esteem, residents here have seen a 15.3% year over year increase so rent is now over $900.

5. Beaufort, SC – University of South Carolina

As a charming southern town, Beaufort has attracted many people along with its University of South Carolina students, creating a demand that has caused a 15.2% growth rate, so one bedroom rent has hit the $950 threshold.

6. Ithaca, NY – Cornell University

The first ivy league college on this list, Cornell offers both lush landscapes and diverse academic programs. However, increasing demand in this city has caused a 14.7% bump in its rent prices this past year.

7. East Lansing, MI – Michigan State

Students from Michigan State who live in East Lansing get all the perks from a close knit, small town community. With natural scenery and cute restaurants and shops, it is no wonder rent is up over 14% since last year.

8. Savannah, GA – Savannah College of Art & Design

Green and walkable, Savannah is a quaint town that is a travel destination for many throughout the world. Residents and students, unfortunately, are dealing with a nearly 12% year over year rental growth rate.

9. Bozeman, MT – Montana State University

Perfect for nature lovers, Bozeman boasts great snow resorts in the winter and Yellowstone National Park so students and residents alike can revel in the fresh air but they are wrangling with the rent growing nearly 12% since last year.

10. Tempe, AZ – Arizona State University

As the most west of schools on the top 10 list, Arizona State University has a reputation for knowing how to have fun and also residing in a city with great career opportunity, as many fortune 500 companies are headquartered there. Unfortunately, these benefits have helped drive one bedroom rent up over 10% since last year to reach $1,080.

Full Data

Rank	City	State	College	2018 1 Bed Rent	2019 1 Bed Rent	YoY%
1	Gainesville	FL	University of Florida	$600	$700	16.70%
2	Ann Arbor	MI	University of Michigan	$850	$985	15.90%
3	Panama City	FL	Gulf Coast State College	$715	$825	15.40%
4	State College	PA	Pennsylvania State University	$785	$905	15.30%
5	Beaufort	SC	University of South Carolina	$825	$950	15.20%
6	Ithaca	NY	Cornell	$850	$975	14.70%
7	East Lansing	MI	Michigan State University	$700	$800	14.30%
8	Savannah	GA	Savannah College of Art & Design	$670	$750	11.90%
9	Bozeman	MT	Montana State University	$850	$950	11.80%
10	Tempe	AZ	Arizona State University	$975	$1,080	10.80%
11	South Bend	IN	University of Notre Dame	$475	$525	10.50%
12	Bloomington	IN	Indiana University	$590	$650	10.20%
13	Fort Collins	CO	Colorado State University	$895	$985	10.10%
14	Lawton	OK	Cameron University	$500	$550	10.00%
15	Monroe	LA	University of Louisiana	$580	$630	8.60%
16	Long Beach	CA	California State University in Long Beach	$1,200	$1,300	8.30%
17	Malibu	CA	Pepperdine University	$3,700	$4,000	8.10%
18	Durham	NC	Duke University	$741	$795	7.30%
19	Auburn	AL	Auburn University	$550	$590	7.30%
20	Flagstaff	AZ	North Arizona University	$900	$960	6.70%
21	Wellesley	MA	Wellesley College	$1,500	$1,600	6.70%
22	Charlottesville	VA	University of Virginia	$800	$850	6.30%
23	St Augustine	FL	Flagler College	$1,090	$1,150	5.50%
24	Ames	IA	Iowa State University	$640	$675	5.50%
25	Fayetteville	AR	University of Arkansas	$500	$525	5.00%
26	Williamsburg	VA	College of William and Mary	$750	$785	4.70%
27	Logan	UT	Utah State University	$550	$575	4.50%
28	Provo	UT	Brigham Young University	$695	$725	4.30%
29	Athens	OH	Ohio University	$655	$683	4.30%
30	Athens	GA	University of Georgia	$625	$650	4.00%
31	Brunswick	GA	College of Coastal Georgia	$875	$910	4.00%
32	Lincoln	NE	University of Nebraska	$530	$550	3.80%
33	Lawrence	KS	University of Kansas	$540	$560	3.70%
34	Eugene	OR	University of Oregon	$725	$750	3.40%
35	Morgantown	WV	West Virginia University	$560	$578	3.10%
36	Fargo	ND	North Dakota State University	$525	$530	1.00%
37	Berkeley	CA	University of Caliofrnia, Berkeley	$1,995	$2,000	0.30%
38	Burlington	VT	University of Vermont	$1,150	$1,150	0.00%
39	Madison	WI	University of Wisconsin-Madison	$775	$775	0.00%
40	Manhattan	KS	Kansas State University	$525	$525	0.00%
41	Oxford	MI	University of Mississippi	$695	$695	0.00%
42	Santa Cruz	CA	University of Caliofrnia, Santa Cruz	$1,800	$1,795	-0.30%
43	Boulder	CO	University of Colorado	$1,300	$1,295	-0.40%
44	Corvallis	OR	Oregon State University	$795	$775	-2.50%
45	Asheville	NC	University of North Carolina at Asheville	$850	$825	-2.90%
45	Troy	AL	Troy University	$505	$490	-3.00%
47	Duluth	MN	University of Minnesota Duluth	$701	$675	-3.70%
48	Syracuse	NY	Syracuse University	$625	$595	-4.80%

Methodology

To determine this list of college towns, we used Wikipedia’s list of college towns and trimmed to gather our top 50 based on population and rental data availability on Zumper.com. We then analyzed and compared the median one bedroom rents on Zumper.com for February through July 2018 and February through July 2019 to show year over year rental growth rates. We took the median rent of 6 months for each city to stabilize the data points more as college towns tend to have smaller available supply every month and can be more sensitive to fluctuations. The final list was ranked from highest to lowest based on year over year rental growth rate.