| School | Location | Cost of Living Index* | Avg apartment rent within two miles of campus** | Housing Index | Grocery Index | Utilities Index | Sales Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue University | West Lafayette, IN + |
83.5 |
$1,165 | 76.8 | 95.3 | 103.6 | 7.00% |
| Purdue University | Indianapolis, IN |
85.7 |
$1,221 | 62.7 | 93.6 | 90.2 | 7.00% |
| University of Illinois | Urbana-Champaign ++ |
78.5 |
$1,365 | 56.6 | 94.7 | 95.7 | 9.00% |
| Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | 88.4 | $1,502 | 85.9 | 97 | 97.2 | 7.00% |
| University of Wisconsin | Madison, WI | 101.4 | $1,622 | 111.1 | 97.9 | 107.5 | 5.00% |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | 110.7 | $1,956 | 164.2 | 102.6 | 99.3 | 6.00% |
| The Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | 86.4 | $1,230 | 68.2 | 98.8 | 102.1 | 7.5% |
| University of Minnesota | Minneapolis, MN | 105 | $1,665 | 117.1 | 101.2 | 99.7 | 9.03% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Tech. | Cambridge, MA | 173.7 | $3,614 | 349.1 | 115.5 | 117.8 | 6.25% |
| Georgia Institute of Tech. | Atlanta, GA | 109.4 | $1,813 | 112 | 98.8 | 103.6 | 8.90% |
| University of Texas | Austin, TX | 129.4 | $1,753 | 159.6 | 96.7 | 99.1 | 8.25% |
| University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | 238.3 | $3,224 | 518 | 114 | 94.3 |
10.25% |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA | 87.2 | $1,321 | 96.8 | 99.7 | 93.9 | 6.00% |
| University of Maryland | College Park, MD | 121.2 | $2,593 | 142.3 | 108 | 109.4 | 6.00% |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | 90.2 | $1,575 | 89.7 | 95.6 | 97.2 | 6.00% |
| University of Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | 91.5 | $1,228 | 78.1 | 97.4 | 91.3 | 5.50% |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | 123.2 | $2,424 | 144.9 | 100.9 | 95 | 10.25% |
| Rutgers University | New Brunswick, NJ | 114.8 | $2,389 | 108.7 | 103.5 | 114.4 | 6.63% |
| Penn State University | State College, PA | 100.4 | $2,000 | 142.1 | 107.8 | 90.4 | 6.00% |
| Stanford University | Palo Alto, CA | 432.8 | $3,410 | 1275.2 | 124.4 | 89.7 | 9.13% |
* US national average is 100%.
** The data on average rents comes directly from competitively-rented (market-rate) large-scale multifamily properties (50+ units in size), in over 130 markets across the U.S. Apartment rent data was provided by Yardi Matrix, a RENTCafé sister company.
+ Figures are averaged from both West Lafayette & Lafayette.
++ Figures are averaged from both Urbana & Champaign.
Updated March 2024.
Sources: bestplaces.net and RENTCafé.
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