The College Town Index · v1.0 · May 2026

The university data multifamily investors have been guessing at.

A single workbook mapping every U.S. degree-granting institution to its metro market, with nine years of enrollment, growth, and concentration metrics. Built from IPEDS, HUD, and Census data — open, reproducible, and free.

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6,163Institutions

9 years2015 – 2023 panel

939CBSAs covered

100%Public sources

Featured findings

Three patterns that don't show up in the headlines.

National enrollment finally turned positive in 2023, but the recovery is concentrated in places investors aren't watching — and the decline is concentrated in markets they are.

+2.6%

First national enrollment growth since 2015

After seven years of contraction, U.S. higher-ed enrollment grew to 19.7M students in 2023. The growth is uneven: community colleges and online-heavy programs led, while flagships in the Northeast and Midwest continued to bleed.

Markets where one school is the rental demand

In 74 micropolitan CBSAs, a single university accounts for more than 80% of total enrollment. Pullman, Oxford MS, Starkville, Stillwater, Athens OH, and Boone are college towns in the literal sense — and that's a unique risk-and-opportunity profile.

−30%

State College, PA enrollment decline 2019→2023

Penn State's reported decline — driven partly by methodology changes around online students — has remade the demand picture in a market multifamily investors have long treated as a safe bet. Other casualties: Mount Pleasant MI (−26%), Owosso MI (−49%).

Sample · Top 10 growing micropolitan college towns

Where the renters are showing up.

9-year change in 12-month enrollment, micropolitan CBSAs only (population < 50K) where one institution accounts for more than 60% of enrollment. Full data in the workbook.

#	CBSA	Anchor institution	2019 enrollment	2023 enrollment	4-yr change
1	Cedar City, UT	Southern Utah University	11,200	14,900	+33%
2	Bloomsburg, PA	Commonwealth U. (Bloomsburg)	8,800	11,300	+29%
3	Oxford, MS	University of Mississippi	22,900	25,400	+11%
4	Boone, NC	Appalachian State University	19,300	21,200	+10%
5	Rexburg, ID	BYU – Idaho	38,400	42,100	+10%
6	Brookings, SD	South Dakota State University	11,400	12,300	+8%
7	Cookeville, TN	Tennessee Tech University	10,200	10,900	+7%
8	Statesboro, GA	Georgia Southern University	26,400	27,800	+5%
9	Pullman, WA	Washington State University	29,700	30,800	+4%
10	Athens, OH	Ohio University	28,100	28,900	+3%

Source: TJY Research analysis of IPEDS 12-month enrollment (EFFY) and HUD ZIP→CBSA crosswalk Q4 2025. Counts rounded for display; full precision in the workbook.

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