Wondering what the best college towns to buy rental property are?
You’ve come to the right place. Targeting the best locations to invest in will help ensure you’re getting the highest possible ROI for a long-term income stream.
In this article, you’ll get twenty great options to consider.
Want to learn more? Read on!
Why invest in college towns
Are college towns good for rental properties?
College towns are ideal places to invest in student housing rental properties.
Why? Because students moving to college need to find affordable housing near campus.
And this is often challenging, especially if staying in dorms isn’t an option.
In fact, a recent survey revealed that 20% of students have a hard time finding the housing they need.
That means student housing investments are one of the best real estate investment opportunities.
Students are also generally less picky about their home environment than high-income professionals might be, so expensive remodels don’t have to be a priority. Ultimately, this saves you money.
Overall, colleges will always attract students. And especially during challenging economic times, there tends to be an increase in people going back to school to reskill or upskill so they can stay professionally competitive.
That means your student housing rental can still bring in revenue even when the economy isn’t doing particularly well.
Want an example? Between 2007 and 2010 – and the corresponding recession – college enrollment increased by nearly 16 percent.
And even when college students were sent home during Covid, people who owned student housing rental properties were able to pivot and cater to other demographics, like hospital professionals who needed affordable housing.
How do I know? Because I invest in college rental property – and teach others how to do the same. I’ve built a student housing business myself that currently brings in multiple six figures in passive income.
Here, I talk more about my story:
Are you ready to learn where you should invest in rental properties? Keep reading.
How to choose the right college town to invest in
How do you ultimately pick the right college town?
A good college town to invest in are areas where there are:
- Top hospitals nearby
- Lots of new job opportunities
- Top colleges
Hospitals, job growth, and top colleges attract high-income earners and, therefore, a better quality of life, which translates into higher rents. Plus, the risk you take decreases because those job opportunities and colleges will continue to attract people regardless of factors like a poor economy or national housing trends.
Also, take a look at where rents increase. For instance, Statista reports that some of the leading universities with the highest rent growth are University of California – Riverside, CA (15%), Clemson University, SC (6.9%), and University of South Florida, FL (6.9%).
Also, here’s more on how I decide on what property to buy:
With that, what are the best college towns to invest in? Let’s take a look.
Top 10 best college towns to buy rental property
Here are the top towns for investing in student housing rental properties in 2024. I’ve selected them based on different college town rankings by websites like Redfin and Homes.com.
The ranking here below includes factors like universities nearby, tuition costs, college rankings, walking score, population, and property listing prices.
Ultimately, the investment decision you make depends on many factors, but this list can help you narrow down your research.
Disclaimer: Some of these markets may have occupancy limits which means there’s a limit to how many unrelated tenants there are per unit, so you might want to focus on buying a duplex, triplex, multifamily, etc if that’s the case or discuss with a real estate attorney before investing.
With that, here are some of the best places to buy rental property.
1. Austin, TX – University of Texas at Austin
Median Property List Price: $570,000
Tuition and Fees: $40,996
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 38
Walk Score: 73
Population: 966,292
2. Gainesville, FL – University of Florida
Median Property List Price: $280,000
Tuition and Fees: $28,658
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 29
Walk Score: 37
Population: 141,341
3. Provo, UT – Brigham Young University – Provo
Median Property List Price: $503,500
Tuition and Fees: $6,304
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 89
Walk Score: 54
Population: 114,156
4. New Haven, CT – Yale University
Median Property List Price: $285,000
Tuition and Fees: $62,250
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 3
Walk Score: 68
Population: 137,339
5. Baltimore, MD – Johns Hopkins University
Median Property List Price: $210,500
Tuition and Fees: $60,480
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 7
Walk Score: 64
Population: 563,455
6. Athens, GA – University of Georgia
Median Property List Price: $318,000
Tuition and Fees: $30,220
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 49
Walk Score: 27
Population: 127,793
7. Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Mellon University
Median Property List Price: $239,900
Tuition and Fees: $61,344
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 22
Walk Score: 62
Population: 295,793
8. West Lafayette, IN – Purdue University – West Lafayette
Median Property List Price: $319,000
Tuition and Fees: $28,794
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 51
Walk Score: 51
Population: 45,111
9. Albany, NY – University of Albany – SUNY
Median Property List Price: $225,000
Tuition and Fees: $28,248
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 182
Walk Score: 65
Population: 97,593
10. Philadelphia, PA – University of Pennsylvania
Median Property List Price: $250,000
Tuition and Fees: $63,452
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 7
Walk Score: 96
Population: 1,527,886
And for 10 more locations, take a look at these options:
11. St. Louis, MO – Washington University in St. Louis
Median Property List Price: $225,000
Tuition and Fees: $60,590
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 15
Walk Score: 85
Population: 279,390
12. Cleveland, OH – Case Western Reserve University
Median Property List Price: $127,750
Tuition and Fees: $62,234
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 44
Walk Score: 92
Population: 360,040
13. Chapel Hill, NC – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Median Property List Price: $674,615
Tuition and Fees: $37,558
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 29
Walk Score: 42
Population: 60,841
14. Ann Arbor, MI – University of Michigan
Median Property List Price: $478,250
Tuition and Fees: $57,273
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 25
Walk Score: 52
Population: 119,570
15. Charlottesville, VA – University of Virginia
Median Property List Price: $510,000
Tuition and Fees: $56,837 out of state
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 25
Walk Score: 58
Population: 44,206
16. Columbus, OH – Ohio State University
Median Property List Price: $270,000
Tuition and Fees: $39,019
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 49
Walk Score: 41
Population: 907,865
17. Williamsburg, VA – William and Mary
Medium Property List Price: $1,335,000
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 41
Tuition and Fees: $46,625
Walk Score: 61
Population: 15,884
18. Buffalo, NY – University of Buffalo
Median Property List Price: $165,000
Tuition and Fees: $28,776
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 89
Walk Score: 67
Population: 274,618
19. Troy, NY – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Median Property List Price: $183,000
Tuition and Fees: $60,051
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 51
Walk Score: 52
Population: 49,819
20. Iowa City, IA – University of Iowa
Median Property List Price: $315,000
Tuition and Fees: $31,904
U.S. News and World Report Ranking: 83
Walk Score: 45
Population: 74,903
Over to you!
There you have it. Now you know what the best college towns to buy rental property are. As you can see, there are plenty of great locations that are prime candidates for a student housing investment – from smaller towns to mid-sized cities.
So, although there’s no perfect location to choose, it’s always a smart idea to go where there are great universities – and correspondingly high demand for affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods. Because ultimately, the right area makes properties easier to rent – and decreases risk overall.
Since real estate prices change often, make sure to keep an eye on the market for the most up-to-date numbers. That way, you’ll be able to snap up the best deals.
What town are you most interested in on this list, and why? Let me know in the comments!
Sources:
