The college town that could save you $32,000 in rent

April 2024 - It's that time of year again. Students are hearing back from their college applications and deciding where to go. But there's one factor in that decision that isn't always at the front of people's minds - the cost of rent.

College is already incredibly expensive, but research from the number 1 roommate finder, SpareRoom, reveals that your choice of college location could be the difference of tens of thousands of dollars in rent over a 4 year course. The contrast in rental costs between the priciest and least expensive cities is over $32,000!

SpareRoom has listed the average roommate rent in 10 of the key cities for college students, alongside a list of colleges and universities, to show how much rents differ by*:

Key cities for college students	Colleges	Average monthly roommate rent	Rent cost of 1 year	Rent cost over 4 years
New York	NYU Columbia University The New School CUNY Fordham University	$1,489	$17,868	$71,472
Boston	Harvard MIT Tufts Boston University Boston College	$1,352	$16,224	$64,896
Los Angeles	UCLA USC Occidental Loyola- Marymount University	$1,331	$15,972	$63,888
San Francisco	University of California at Berkeley University of California San Francisco University	$1,263	$15,156	$60,624
Miami	University of Miami Florida International University Florida Atlantic University	$1,258	$15,096	$60,384
Washington, D.C.	Georgetown University George Washington University American University Howard University George Mason University	$1,203	$14,436	$57,744
Chicago	University of Chicago Northwestern University University of Illinois	$1,028	$12,336	$49,344
Philadelphia	University of Pennsylvania Drexel University Temple University Villanova University	$954	$11,448	$45,792
Houston	Rice University University of Houston	$830	$9,960	$39,840
Dallas	Southern Methodist University University of Texas at Dallas University of Texas at Arlington	$819	$9,828	$39,312

The cheapest major metro area for college students to rent in is Dallas, with students predicted to spend an average of $39,312 in rent over 4 years - almost half of what they would spend on rent in the most expensive metro area, New York ($71,472).

Matt Hutchinson, spokesperson for SpareRoom comments: “Living with roommates is an invaluable part of the college experience. It may be your first time living away from home, and often people end up making friends for life!

But where you choose to study is also a major factor. People often don’t realise just how much they could save by opting for a college in a cheaper city. Of course, some people will be set on a specific course or college, but if you’re undecided, the financial savings could be a huge factor in helping you work out where to go.”

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Notes to editors

*Average roommate rents, Q1 2024↩