Universities With the Most Expensive Housing (Top 20)

Everyone budgets for tuition and then gets blindsided by the housing bill. At the twenty schools below, a year of housing and food runs $19,792 to $23,750 — before a single class is paid for. Here is the full ranked list.

Most expensive college housing ranks 1 to 5: UC Berkeley $23,750, NYU $23,530, Vanderbilt $22,054, Washington University $21,854, UC Merced $21,445

Most expensive college housing ranks 6 to 10: Stanford $21,315, Harvard $21,190, Northwestern $21,126, Georgetown $20,596, Caltech $20,283

Most expensive college housing ranks 11 to 15: MIT $20,280, UC Santa Barbara $20,279, Princeton $20,250, Emory $20,220, Johns Hopkins $20,150

Most expensive college housing ranks 16 to 20: University of Chicago $20,109, Dartmouth $19,999, USC $19,931, Yale $19,900, University of Rochester $19,792

The most expensive college housing, ranked

#	School	Housing + food
1	UC Berkeley	$23,750
2	New York University	$23,530
3	Vanderbilt	$22,054
4	Washington University in St. Louis	$21,854
5	UC Merced	$21,445
6	Stanford	$21,315
7	Harvard	$21,190
8	Northwestern	$21,126
9	Georgetown	$20,596
10	Caltech	$20,283
11	MIT	$20,280
12	UC Santa Barbara	$20,279
13	Princeton	$20,250
14	Emory	$20,220
15	Johns Hopkins	$20,150
16	University of Chicago	$20,109
17	Dartmouth	$19,999
18	USC	$19,931
19	Yale	$19,900
20	University of Rochester	$19,792

Annual on-campus housing plus a meal plan. Published estimates, rounded; they shift yearly and by room type.

$23,750

A year of housing and food at UC Berkeley — the priciest on the list, and it's a public school

Two things this list gets you

Public does not mean cheap. Berkeley is #1 and UC Merced is #5. Public schools cut your tuition, not your rent, because campus housing is priced against the neighborhood around it. Berkeley and NYU sit in two of the most brutal rental markets in America, which is why they beat Harvard and Yale.

The gap is smaller than the panic. Twenty spots separate $23,750 from $19,792 — about $4,000. Housing is expensive nearly everywhere on this tier, so picking a school to dodge rent rarely works. Cutting years does.

The math nobody puts on the flyer

A degree has four years of housing in it. Start at a community college and live at home, and two of those years disappear — roughly $40,000 at any school on this list, which is more than most students save on tuition. Then you transfer in as a junior with the same diploma at the end. If you want the cheaper campuses instead, here is which college fits your life on social scene and housing, and which universities pay a degree back fastest.

Cut two years of rent out of your degree.

Put in your community college and your dream university. That's it.

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Bottom line

The most expensive college housing clusters around $20,000 a year and it barely budges by school. The lever that actually moves is how many years you pay it. Two at home, two on campus, and you keep about forty grand. Line up the classes that make that transfer work.

Frequently asked questions

Which university has the most expensive housing?

UC Berkeley, at about $23,750 a year for housing plus food. NYU is second at $23,530 and Vanderbilt third at $22,054.

Why is UC Berkeley housing more expensive than Harvard's?

Location. Berkeley and NYU sit in two of the most expensive rental markets in the country, and campus housing gets priced against the neighborhood around it, not against the school's endowment.

Is a public university always cheaper for housing?

No. UC Berkeley tops this list and UC Merced is fifth, both public. Public schools save you on tuition, not on rent.

How do transfer students avoid these housing costs?

By living at home for the first two years at a community college, then transferring in as a junior. That cuts two years of housing out of the degree entirely, which is usually a bigger saving than tuition.