Renting

After tuition, rent is probably the largest expense in the average college budget. The median national rental cost is $1324 over all metro areas. However, rental expenses are literally all over the map. An average rental costs only $936 in Phoenix, while the average rental in Washington DC is $1608. While college students generally can pay a lower cost by sharing an apartment with roommates, the average student still spends nearly $6000/year on rent. It may be that you can find cheaper rent without having to move far at all. Use the utilities below to understand the potential savings you could find. If an 18-year-old student were able to save just $100/month on rent (and continued saving this amount until retirement), this decision could be worth over 2.75 million dollars at retirement.  

  1. http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx is a great cost of living calculator that allows you to see how much rent you will likely pay in the city you move to for college. You can take this into account when deciding where to attend.
  2. http://www.rentometer.com This is a great site that allows you to compare your rent to the rent rates at other apartments in the area. Use it to see if you are paying too much. 
  3. http://www.apartmentratings.com/ helps you find information about rental rates, rental reviews, average rental rates in an area and whether rents are going up or going down. It may be that you are paying the market rate from a few years ago even though average rates have decreased. 
  4. Student Tips for Shrinking your Rent Bills. Click here to view tips from real college students who have worked to reduce their rent expenses.
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