Average Student Housing Rents Ranked by State: Fall 2023

The most expensive state in the nation for student housing rents is New York, where the average effective rent per bed clocks in just under $2,500 per month. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wyoming claims the nation’s most affordable student housing rents at less than $550 per bed per month, on average.

Across the core 175 universities tracked by RealPage, average effective asking rents per bed in privately owned student housing runs around $1,000 per month as of Fall 2023. That rate varies widely, with two Northeast locales more than doubling that average. New York ($2,487) and Massachusetts ($2,160) claim the nation’s most expensive student housing rents. Rents run above $1,500 per month in Washington, DC, California, New Jersey, Washington state, Connecticut and Illinois.

Several states have average effective rents per bed that run approximately in line with the national norm of about $1,000 per month. Hawaii, Maryland, Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Georgia, Virginia, Alaska, Wisconsin and Delaware all post average rents per bed within $100 of the national average.

Since the last time RealPage ran this analysis using Fall 2021 data, Montana has seen the largest jump in student housing rents. The state average in Montana of $1,053 has jumped nearly 30% in two years – a price increase that aligns with conventional apartment rent growth seen across the state as well.

Only four states nationwide posted average student housing rents below the $600 mark as of Fall 2023. West Virginia, Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming claimed the lowest student housing rents in the nation.