BOISE, Idaho — A new study shows that off-campus rent around Boise State is comparatively affordable. But how affordable it is depending heavily on what you're comparing it to. Here's a look:
Cost of off-campus housing
1. New York University - $4,800
2. Columbia University - $4,102
3. U.C. Irvine - $3,975
90. Boise State University - $1,426
138. Brigham Young Idaho - $995
139. Washington State University - $993
This study comes from RentHop. They looked at the cost of off-campus housing (about 2 miles around the campus) for the 150 largest U.S. colleges. The most expensive spots go to schools in New York City and in Southern California. Again, only the largest 150 colleges were analyzed, but of those, Boise State did okay, ranked 90th. You see that BYU Idaho and Washington State did really well. But the important thing to look at is not the ranking, but the cost. At Boise State, your average rent near campus is still $1,426 a month. That's up there.
Boise median rent
- 1 Bedroom - $1,076
- 2 Bedroom - $1,270
- Down 6.4% over past 12 months
- Down 6.5% in Idaho over past 12 months
It's even more expensive than Boise as a whole. Apartment List says median rent for a one bedroom is $1,076 and a two bedroom is $12,70 across the city. So, things get more affordable as you go out from around campus near downtown Boise, and rent is also getting more affordable as time goes on. Rent is down 6.4% over the past 12 months in Boise, and down 6.5% across Idaho.
Apartment List also says median rent is down 4% this year. Unless there's a big uptick, this will be the first time in years we've seen Boise's median rent drop for the year. So, that's awesome news, right? No. It's more of a drop in the bucket.
Ali Rabe is the Executive Director of Jesse Tree, which helps folks being evicted. Her numbers show that while rent is down a little this year, it's up 40% overall the past two years. She says, according to the United Way, half of folks in the Treasure Valley are living paycheck to paycheck. Jesse Tree is desperately trying to handle 50 eviction hearings a week, double what they were before federal rent assistance ran out. And they're having to help all sorts of people. That includes college students-- mostly those who cannot live on campus and are struggling-- because they don't have scholarships or family financial support.
"In our conversations with Boise State and other universities, we've heard that there is an increased number of students who are couch surfing, living with friends, and formerly sleeping in cars, things like that. And I do think that's just because the cost of the rental market has increased by so much in our area. Normally, it would have been affordable for a college student but now it's not," said Ali Rabe. "The fact of the matter is that a lot of these new rentals are owned by very large companies that are owned by out of state investors, and they're profit driven. And there's not really a lot of competition in the market now. And so, they're kind of just competing with each other. I think there is an element of supply and demand. But also, there is a greater issue, that housing is now treated like a commodity, and even though it's a basic human need."
That was covered more in-depth in a previous Growing Idaho, how market-rate housing makes financial sense for investors but helps to keep the community in a housing crisis. You can find that story here.
If you are seeing that crisis first-hand and going through the eviction process, even though they are very busy, Jesse Tree can help. You can find them here.