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Most And Least Expensive College Towns

forbes.com — Figuring the cost of living where you study.

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  • newbill123, on 11/09/2009, -1/+94Least Expensive

    1. Akron, Ohio, U. of Akron -- $121,885
    2. Muncie, Ind., Ball State U. -- $144,996
    3. Ann Arbor, Mich., U. of Michigan -- $148,000
    4. Ypsilanti, Mich., Eastern Michigan U. -- $151,500
    5. Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Christian U. -- $153,450
    6. Tulsa, Okla., U. of Tulsa -- $154,800
    7. Denton, Texas, U. of North Texas -- $154,900
    8. Houston, Texas, U. of Houston, Rice U. -- $159,847
    9. Bloomington, Ind., Indiana U. -- $164,433
    10. Kent, Ohio, Kent State U. -- $165,700

    Most Expensive

    10. Seattle, Wash., U. of Washington -- $568,317
    9. Boulder, Colo., U. of Colorado -- $622,000
    8. Evanston, Ill., Northwestern U. -- $663,250
    7. Annapolis, Md., United States Naval Academy -- $687,475
    6. Honolulu, Hawaii, U. of Hawaii -- $712,500
    5. San Jose, Calif., San Jose State U. -- $808,926
    4. Berkeley, Calif., U. of Calif., Berkeley -- $1,299,750
    3. Boston/Chestnut Hill, Mass., Boston College -- $1,337,578
    2. Los Angeles, Calif., U. of Southern Calif., U. of Calif., LA -- $1,347,125
    1. Palo Alto, Calif., Stanford U. -- $1,489,726

    (Source for both lists: Coldwell Banker Real Estate)
  • Wigmeister, on 11/09/2009, -1/+38***** that website.
  • Apex3, on 11/09/2009, -6/+36Who BUYS a house in college?

    And LOL at UW, those ***** pay 3 time what I pay for rent at WSU.
  • dillonflynn, on 11/09/2009, -2/+17No college town is expensive if you let your thong ride up above your jeans.
  • Soniti, on 11/09/2009, -1/+15I love how they list houses near Annapolis in case you decide to go to the Naval Academy.

    Protip: You don't live off "campus" at ANY point during your Academy "experience".
  • BrickTamaland, on 11/09/2009, -0/+12Very relevant article since a majority of incoming, 18 year old freshman are in the market to buy a house. My freshman orientation was flooded with real estate agents.
  • meruru, on 11/09/2009, -3/+15I think it's a little unfair to call Seattle, Boston, and LA "College Towns"
  • TheUngod, on 11/09/2009, -0/+12I dont think that'll get me too far. Nobody wants to see my hairy buttcrack.
  • defenswens26, on 11/09/2009, -3/+12From the article:
    "Gillespie himself is a faithful fan of his old school's football team, the University of Illinois Illini in Champagne, Ill. He and his wife are buying a townhouse there."

    It's spelled Champaign damn it. It isn't that hard.
  • likeyehokwhatev, on 11/09/2009, -0/+9Are you kidding? Boston is about as "College Town" as you can get...
  • gmeinsch, on 11/09/2009, -0/+8That's because no on in their right mind would want to live in Pullman
  • Truedirt, on 11/09/2009, -1/+8Now I want a follow up on how graduates from both the most and the least expensive colleges towns fare later in the professional world
  • fveder, on 11/09/2009, -0/+7Would it have really been that hard for the article to just post the ***** list? Why must they complicate things by burying them in multiple pages splattered with adverts.
  • inactive, on 11/09/2009, -1/+7Buried for slideshows.

    And nothing in California really counts since houses in Compton even go for $500k.

    So their prices are all sorts of ***** up and out of the realm of reality.
  • jdames1980, on 11/09/2009, -0/+5Yeah, as far as I see it, Michigan State (East Lansing) should definitely be on the least expensive list. It's probably cheaper than Ann Arbor.
  • WehttamNenait, on 11/09/2009, -0/+4Same with Seattle. About 1/4 of Seattle is devoted to the University.
  • macslut, on 11/09/2009, -1/+5Having gone to NYU and now living in Palo Alto, I was really wondering about this list until I saw:
    "Coldwell Banker only studies places with colleges that are part of the college football Bowl Championship Series. That excludes New York City, though it's safe to assume the cost of housing in Manhattan is off the charts."

    This list though is really misleading. Most of the top 10 aren't "college towns". Also, while Palo Alto has some damn expensive houses, those don't exactly belong to freshmen.

    "He reports that grownup college alums have been snapping up second homes in the places where they attended school. They're attracted by their alma maters' cultural offerings and, of course, their home football games."

    Oh, ok. Well, *****...we need a list for this...now?
  • kashk5, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3Not sure why you got dugg down. The area around USC does suck.
  • FelixDrylock, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3The two things Boston is known for is our colleges and our hospitals.
  • LacY, on 11/09/2009, -1/+4This just in--housing is pricier in coastal areas than more central areas...
  • kthoma22, on 11/09/2009, -1/+4Why is BC listed as the college in Boston? Of the four major schools BC, BU, NU, and Harvard BC is the smallest in terms of number of undergraduates. BC is around 7,800, Harvard 1200 NU 15000 and BU 30000. Their science and engineering departments suck/nonexistent compared to the ones at the other three schools. They shouldn't even be called Boston College since their campus and housing is in Chestnut Hill. At least Harvard has/ is expanding into more of Boston.
  • gotcheaprice, on 11/09/2009, -2/+5Wooo! #2 most expensive! Too bad the area around USC sucks. Not sure who would wanna buy a house here.
  • DifferentAngle, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3Eastern Michigan and U of Michigan are right next to eachother... 5-10 minutes drive from one campus to another.
  • ultraseamus, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Spam. Buried, reported, and blocked.
  • AiR1890, on 11/09/2009, -1/+4How does Michigan State rank? There not on this list, but how do they rank overall in expenses when it comes to housing?
  • Greengoo, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3I've lived in East Lansing and Ann Arbor while I was working on degrees at both schools. East Lansing is cheaper for sure. This list is just hokey *****.
  • MixMastaKooz, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3True! There are some towns in the midwest that have a local university and you can get a house for 60k if you want. My rent in Kirksville, MO (two colleges: Truman State and KCOM) was $750 for a five bedroom house: between five of us, we had plenty of money left over for beer!
  • shreyans, on 11/09/2009, -1/+4*****, inaccurate list.

    They're right about UC Berkeley being expensive though. Sigh.
  • Apex3, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Well that's true, but most college students aren't in any position to do so.

    Then again it gives you a place to live, so maybe they are in a position to. But my point stands, hardly anyone actually does.
  • nadadingsda, on 11/09/2009, -1/+3..unfortunately the graduate student stipend does not scale with the cost of living :-(
  • caramba421, on 11/09/2009, -2/+4They missed University of California Santa Barbara.

    Everything here is so ***** expensive it's outrageous.

  • tglas, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Who did that God-awful layout? Surely Forbes can afford a skilled web designer.

    Edit: Seriously, that site was a cluttered mess. It was like someone just threw everything onto a desk, took a picture, and said, "This will work!" Then they took turns stabbing a power outlet.
  • AxeSwinger, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2I know totally obvious that's why I just bought beach front property in Boulder.
  • woodrail, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Thanx newbill123. That article was some asspain ***** to navigate.
  • shortmilton, on 11/09/2009, -1/+3All I saw was a friggin' Merril Lynch commercial,never did get the story to come up.
  • Apex3, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2I would say the same about Seattle :P That's why I left
  • DirtyVicar, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Forbes has relaxed their educational requirements a bit, eh?
  • BenTheTank, on 11/09/2009, -2/+4I did. One of the best financial decisions I ever made.
  • echan, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1Ann Arbor is ***** expensive and East Lansing is WAYYYY cheaper compared
  • diggadigga, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1I was surprised that people who went to other colleges, most have their own room after freshmen year.
  • kthoma22, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1I'm not sure if I should dig you because IDK if your a BU fan or NU fan
  • empirenine, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1Totally agree. I didn't go to school at UCSB but I grew up right next to it in Goleta. When you factor in the sheer number of people living in the average room there (probably 4+), I'd guess its right near the top of the list. Median home prices in Santa Barbara have been over $1 million for years now.
  • kthoma22, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1Only the med school is in boston.
  • darksydxx, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1NYU is cheap?
  • DirtyVicar, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1Any cosigners?
  • Ezrayan, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1we may study in Pullman, but TAKE YUR JERB in Seattle
  • FelixDrylock, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1well Boston is a big sports town too. But we have a lot of colleges, and the world's best hospitals are here in Boston.

    According to this article Boston is #3 best college city behind NY and D.C.:
    http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/200 ...
  • wonnk13, on 11/09/2009, -1/+2BC SUCKS!!
  • AdeleMor, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1the housing value reflects the general costs... i'm going with farm veterinarian
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