New York University Tops Most Expensive Off-Campus Housing List

The New York City metro area is home to some of the country’s top universities, but students also pay some of the highest housing prices to attend them. According to a new report from RENTCafe, rents within a mile of some of the country’s 100 most prestigious colleges are higher than the averages in the cities they’re located in.

New York University is first on the site’s list with $4,463, the highest average rent within a mile of its campus, up from the Manhattan-wide average of $4,132, as of March 2019. The school, which will cost $53,310 for undergrads in the 2019-2020 school year, ranks 30th in the U.S. News 2019 top colleges list.

Princeton University in New Jersey, the No. 1 school in the country according to U.S. News, has an average rent price of $2,409 within a mile of its grounds, compared to the the Princeton city-wide average of $2,297. Tuition at the college for 2019-2020 will be $51,870.

The average rent within a mile of Columbia University in upper Manhattan, which is third on the U.S. News list and is projected to cost $68,395 in 2019-2020, is $4,217.

There is some possible relief for those who are willing to commute a little further, however, with the average rents near several schools dropping two miles from campus. Prices fall to $4,090 two miles from NYU, for example, and $3,654 two miles from Columbia.

This makes perfect sense, as landlords often take advantage of their properties’ proximity to colleges, explained Alexandra Ciuntu, the research analyst for RENTCafe who authored the study.

“Certainly, with a prestigious institution like Columbia calling the area home, housing costs nearby are likely to see an impact from the heightened demand generated by students from all over the world,” Ciuntu said. For students in need of a financial break, “renting with roommates is a common solution for dealing with the high prices,” she added.

Here are the top 10 U.S. schools with the most expensive average rents within a mile of their campuses, according to RentCAFE, along with their U.S. News ranking: