Student housing statistics at a glance
Student housing is a niche market with its own supply cycle, seasonal demand pattern, and city-by-city differences. The latest pipeline snapshot shows a market that is not moving in a straight line: national bed deliveries fell and then rebounded, while the strongest pipeline cities still pair high occupancy with large future supply (College House Pipeline Report).
A few numbers set the tone immediately. National student housing beds delivered were 58,238 in 2017, fell to 33,070 in 2022, and then rose to 43,581 in 2026 (College House Pipeline Report). At the same time, several top pipeline cities posted occupancy above 90% and pre-lease levels above 70%, which is a sign that demand is still absorbing a very active development slate (College House Pipeline Report).
Table of contents
- National delivery trend
- Top pipeline cities
- Occupancy, rent, and pre-lease
- What the city mix suggests
- How to read these statistics
National delivery trend
The national delivery series gives the clearest high-level view of how active the market has been. The pattern is uneven rather than steady, which matters because student housing supply tends to cluster around university cycles and local development windows (College House Pipeline Report).
| Year | National student housing beds delivered | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 58,238 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2018 | 65,209 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2019 | 44,919 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2020 | 44,231 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2021 | 52,048 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2022 | 33,070 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2023 | 42,920 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2024 | 37,737 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2025 | 34,998 | College House Pipeline Report |
| 2026 | 43,581 | College House Pipeline Report |
Two things stand out from the table. First, the 2018 peak of 65,209 beds was the high-water mark in this sequence, well above the later years (College House Pipeline Report). Second, the 2022 trough of 33,070 beds was followed by a partial recovery into 2026, when deliveries reached 43,581 beds (College House Pipeline Report). That rebound matters because it suggests the market is still rebuilding supply after a lower-delivery period rather than locking into one fixed level.
A quick way to frame the longer movement is to compare the endpoints. From 2017 to 2026, deliveries fell from 58,238 to 43,581 beds, but that hides the volatility in the middle years and the fact that 2026 was above 2023, 2024, and 2025 (College House Pipeline Report). The market has therefore been choppy, not linear.
Top pipeline cities
The city rankings show where the most concentrated activity is happening. These are not random school towns scattered across a map. They are places where occupancy, lease-up, and future inventory all show up at once.
Ranked pipeline list
- College Station, TX ranked 1st with a 6,574-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Orlando, FL ranked 2nd with a 6,495-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Atlanta, GA ranked 3rd with a 5,543-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Knoxville, TN ranked 4th with a 5,506-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Madison, WI ranked 5th with a 5,224-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- West Lafayette, IN ranked 6th with a 5,138-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Tallahassee, FL ranked 7th with a 4,923-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Ann Arbor, MI ranked 8th with a 4,684-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Clemson, SC ranked 9th with a 4,313-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
- Berkeley, CA ranked 10th with a 3,852-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report).
The spread between first and tenth place is meaningful but not enormous. College Station, TX led the list with 6,574 beds, while Berkeley, CA still had a sizable 3,852-bed pipeline (College House Pipeline Report). That tells you the market is concentrated at the top but still broad enough that multiple regions are carrying significant development activity.
City snapshot table
| Rank | City | Current occupancy | Average rate | Pre-lease | Pipeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College Station, TX | 92.2% | $857 | 75.6% | 6,574 |
| 2 | Orlando, FL | 96.4% | $1,064 | 76.1% | 6,495 |
| 3 | Atlanta, GA | 90.0% | $1,338 | 61.3% | 5,543 |
| 4 | Knoxville, TN | 97.7% | $1,170 | 84.0% | 5,506 |
| 5 | Madison, WI | 93.8% | $1,410 | 81.6% | 5,224 |
| 6 | West Lafayette, IN | 99.2% | $1,098 | 81.2% | 5,138 |
| 7 | Tallahassee, FL | 94.6% | $965 | 73.7% | 4,923 |
| 8 | Ann Arbor, MI | 95.2% | $1,618 | 70.9% | 4,684 |
| 9 | Clemson, SC | 88.6% | $924 | 80.2% | 4,313 |
| 10 | Berkeley, CA | 83.3% | $2,594 | 54.9% | 3,852 |
Occupancy, rent, and pre-lease
The most useful part of the city data is the combination of occupancy, rent, and pre-lease. Looking at only one of those fields would miss the market tension that the set reveals (College House Pipeline Report).
Occupancy
Occupancy is high across the group. West Lafayette, IN was the highest at 99.2%, and Knoxville, TN was close behind at 97.7% (College House Pipeline Report). Orlando, FL was also strong at 96.4%, while Ann Arbor, MI reached 95.2% and Tallahassee, FL came in at 94.6% (College House Pipeline Report).
Even the lower end of the list was not weak in absolute terms. Berkeley, CA was the lowest in the group at 83.3%, and Clemson, SC posted 88.6% occupancy (College House Pipeline Report). For a development-heavy niche, that is a useful reminder that comparatively lower occupancy can still sit inside a very active market.
Average rate
Average rate varies widely across the cities. Berkeley, CA was the most expensive at $2,594, far above Ann Arbor, MI at $1,618 and Madison, WI at $1,410 (College House Pipeline Report). Atlanta, GA came in at $1,338, while Knoxville, TN was at $1,170 and West Lafayette, IN at $1,098 (College House Pipeline Report).
At the lower end, College Station, TX showed a $857 average rate and Clemson, SC had $924, with Tallahassee, FL at $965 (College House Pipeline Report). The rate range within this ten-city group is substantial, and it shows that student housing economics are highly local rather than uniform.
Pre-lease
Pre-lease matters because it indicates how quickly demand is locking in before the academic year or leasing cycle fully matures. West Lafayette, IN led the group at 81.2%, and Madison, WI followed at 81.6% (College House Pipeline Report). Knoxville, TN was at 84.0%, which is the strongest pre-lease figure in the list (College House Pipeline Report).
Orlando, FL had 76.1% pre-lease, College Station, TX had 75.6%, and Tallahassee, FL was at 73.7% (College House Pipeline Report). Lower on the list, Ann Arbor, MI posted 70.9%, Atlanta, GA had 61.3%, and Berkeley, CA had 54.9% (College House Pipeline Report). The pattern is important because some cities combine very high occupancy with only moderate pre-lease, while others show solid pre-lease with less dramatic occupancy.
What the city mix suggests
This dataset is best read as a market map rather than a single ranking. The cities with the largest pipelines are not identical to the cities with the highest rent or occupancy, which means supply, pricing, and leasing strength are not moving in lockstep (College House Pipeline Report).
College Station, TX is a useful example. It ranked 1st with a 6,574-bed pipeline, but its occupancy was 92.2% and its average rate was $857 (College House Pipeline Report). That is a very different pricing profile from Berkeley, CA, which ranked 10th with a 3,852-bed pipeline yet carried the highest average rate at $2,594 (College House Pipeline Report).
Orlando, FL and Knoxville, TN show another angle. Orlando ranked 2nd with a 6,495-bed pipeline and 96.4% occupancy, while Knoxville ranked 4th with a 5,506-bed pipeline and 97.7% occupancy (College House Pipeline Report). Both look like active, high-occupancy markets, but Knoxville had the stronger pre-lease figure at 84.0% versus Orlando’s 76.1% (College House Pipeline Report).
Atlanta, GA adds a different texture again. It ranked 3rd with a 5,543-bed pipeline and had 90.0% occupancy, but its pre-lease was 61.3%, which is noticeably lower than several peers in the same group (College House Pipeline Report). That kind of gap can matter more than the raw rank because it hints at different pacing between supply delivery and absorption.
Quick interpretation guide
If you are reading student housing statistics for the first time, the safest approach is to treat the three main fields as complementary signals:
- Delivery tells you how much inventory has come online nationally in a given year (College House Pipeline Report).
- Occupancy tells you how full current properties are in each city (College House Pipeline Report).
- Pre-lease tells you how much demand has already committed before the cycle is fully complete (College House Pipeline Report).
Put together, those measures help explain why the market can feel tight in one city and softer in another even when both are active. High occupancy with high pre-lease suggests strong absorption. High pipeline with lower pre-lease suggests more leasing work ahead. High rate with moderate occupancy suggests a premium market that may still have room for pricing power, but not always equally across product types (College House Pipeline Report).
Pattern reading by city tier
The top half of the ranked list looks more balanced than the bottom half. College Station, Orlando, Atlanta, Knoxville, Madison, and West Lafayette each combine large pipelines with occupancy above 90% except Atlanta at 90.0% exactly and College Station at 92.2% (College House Pipeline Report). That is a broad signal of healthy market depth.
The lower half of the list is more mixed. Tallahassee, Ann Arbor, and Clemson all show meaningful pipelines but differ in price and pre-lease behavior, while Berkeley sits apart with the highest rate and the lowest occupancy in the group (College House Pipeline Report). That combination is useful because it shows the same product category can behave like a value market in one place and a premium market in another.
Reading the national series against the city list
The national delivery series and the city list should be read together. National deliveries were lower in 2022 at 33,070 beds, then improved to 42,920 in 2023 and 43,581 in 2026 (College House Pipeline Report). Meanwhile, the city rankings still show several markets with very large pipelines and strong occupancy, which means local demand has remained important even during years when national delivery was uneven (College House Pipeline Report).
That is the core story in this dataset: student housing is not a one-speed market. Some years bring more national supply, some cities carry larger pipelines, and some campuses support premium pricing even when occupancy is not at the very top of the group. The current statistics point to a market that is active, segmented, and highly local in how it absorbs supply (College House Pipeline Report).