Columbia, Mo., home to the University of Missouri, offers the cheapest housing costs of college towns in the U.S., according to a new analysis from Apartment Guide. The average one-bedroom apartment rents for $714 and the average two-bedroom apartment rent is $850.
College towns have long been viewed as a steady sector for investors to own rentals. The pandemic has challenged that over recent months, but housing analysts still view college towns as a lucrative investment over the long run.
“College towns are wonderful places to live not just for students but for young professionals, recent grads, and new families,” Apartment Guide notes in its study.
Apartment Guide averaged rental prices for one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments to then rank the most and least affordable college towns.
The most affordable college towns for renters in the nation are:
Meanwhile, the most expensive college towns have apartment rents that are nearly three times the cost of some of the cheapest areas in the country for rent. Los Angeles, home to UCLA and USC, has the priciest rents (one bedrooms average $3,200 and two bedrooms average $4,522).
The following is a chart of the top 10 most expensive college towns.
Source: “AG Top 25: The Cheapest College Towns for Renters,” Apartment Guide (Sept. 3, 2020)
