A new study commissioned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the City of Madison found that UW-Madison students face some of the highest off-campus rent prices in the Big Ten Conference.
Nearly 70% of rentals near the campus cost students over $1,000 per month, more expensive than students consider affordable, the study found.
Chicago-based consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. conducted the study, which was jointly funded by the city and the university. JLL determined that "affordable" housing for a UW-Madison student could be defined as around $980 per month.
The study considered apartments within a 2.5-mile radius of the university campus in its report. It found that older apartments are much cheaper, as are apartments further from the campus. New or renovated properties built or significantly updated after 2000 had a monthly rent price of $1,575 per bedroom, while properties built 25 years ago or more cost an average of $986 monthly per bedroom.
Prices also drop the further you get from campus. Properties within 1 mile of the university average $1,746 per unit monthly. Meanwhile, that decreases to $1,452 within three miles of the campus and $1,384 within five miles.
The study also indicates that students commonly choose to share bedrooms to keep rent costs down. While the average monthly rent price near campus is $1,273 per bedroom, of the over 4,400 students surveyed, the average self-reported monthly rent payment was $903. Over one-quarter of students reported sharing a bedroom, about 17% more than similar-sized schools, JLL found.
Unlike many universities, living on campus in university-owned housing is the cheaper option for UW-Madison students. On average, rent for a double-occupancy on-campus unit is $862; this is actually below the Big Ten average. But, while most first-year students elect to live on campus, there is a "culture" of moving off-campus among upperclassmen, the study says.
UW-Madison officials say they'll use the study's findings and included recommendations from JLL to "guide future policy decisions and better help students find the housing that best suits their needs and budgets."
Why are apartment rents so expensive near UW-Madison?
In Madison, downtown properties must consider both students and the many downtown professionals who live in the capital city. This "deep pool of potential renters" means students compete not only with each other but also thousands of non-students for rentals. Rentals near the campus have a 98% occupancy rate.
Increasing enrollment at the university and rapid downtown population growth have increased demand for rentals. Between 2010 and 2023, Madison's population within a 2.5-mile radius of the university has grown at an average annual rate of 1.6%, the study reported. UW-Madison's undergraduate enrollment has also increased 23% since 2010.
This has led to crowding in on-campus residence halls, which have maintained an average occupancy rate of 104% from 2010 to 2023 by adding additional beds to existing rooms. The 104% figure rises to 114%, excluding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic year.
Downtown Madison's location on an isthmus also limits the amount of land available for new apartment complexes.
Are they building new apartments near UW-Madison?
Yes, in the next three years, 1,700 new units are scheduled to be added within a 2.5-mile radius of the UW-Madison campus, the study states. Over the last decade, over 6,000 units have been added in the same area.
JLL recommends that private developers consider adding three-to-five-bedroom units with social spaces to maximize space and meet student interest.
The consulting firm also said that the City of Madison should give incentives like density bonuses and tax incentives to developers who include a certain percentage of affordable housing units in their projects.
It also suggested that the university explore public-private partnerships with private developers to create off-campus housing options that are easily accessible to students.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Madison students face some of the most expensive rents in the Big Ten, new study says
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