Deciding on a School? 25 College Towns With the Lowest Rent

With all the factors to consider when choosing a college, it’s easy to overlook one of the main expenses of college life: housing.

While many freshmen may live in a dorm, at least for the first year, there’s a good chance you’ll be living independently after that. Knowing what your rental expenses might entail can help you budget and compare the costs as you consider colleges.

Most students must commit to a college by May 1st, known as National College Decision Day. Some colleges have early admissions plans that require students to commit in November or January. 

To give you an idea of what you might spend to rent a home in the college towns you’re considering, Zillow looked at typical rents in 357 college towns in the U.S.  (If you’re planning to have roommates, you can divide accordingly.) 

Zillow defines a college town as a city where at least 20% of the population is enrolled in higher education, based on data from the 2022 American Community Survey. The metro also must have a population of at least 25,000, and not be a vacation or retirement town.

Where the data was available, we also looked at the percentage of rental listings on Zillow in September 2025 that were offering concessions, such as discounted rent or free parking. The more concessions being offered by landlords, the more the market favors renters. 

In terms of costs, the New York metro area has the highest reported rent, and California metros dominate the list of college towns with the most expensive rents. On the opposite end of the spectrum, college towns with the lowest typical rents tend to be in the South and the Midwest. The college town with the lowest rent is Weirton, West Virginia, with typical rent as of Sept 2025 at $806 a month.

Here’s a look at the most and least expensive rents:

25 college towns with the highest rents

25 college towns with the lowest rents

For recent college grads transitioning from school to careers, Zillow also looked at the best markets for recent college graduates. The analysis looked at rent affordability, concessions, incomes for recent college graduates in that job market, job openings and the share of residents ages 21-29. 

If you’re planning to stick around in the same town or city after college, the analysis will give you an idea of which places may be the best to launch a career. 

For those of you who made it through the gauntlet, congratulations. And for those of you just starting, good luck!

Rent Affordability Calculator

Enter your monthly net income, debts, savings and expenses to calculate how much you can afford to spend on rent. You can also toggle the percentage of your budget that you want to spend on housing. Learn more about how much you should spend on rent.

Popular colleges and universities

The chart below shows typical rent for colleges and universities with some of the nation's largest on-campus populations.