UW scientist’s non-melting ice keeps at room temperature
The regular ice cream (left) had completely melted after an hour at room temperature, but the non-melting CJ Wicks ice cream still looked like it was fresh out of the freezer.
A new study commissioned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the City of Madison found that UW-Madison students face some of the highest off-campus rents in the Big Ten Conference.
Nearly 70 percent of rents near campus cost students more than $1,000 a month, more than they can afford, the study found.
Chicago-based consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. conducted the study, which was jointly funded by the city and the university. JLL found that “affordable” housing for a UW-Madison student is worth about $980 per month.
The study’s report looked at apartments within a 2.5-mile radius of the university campus. It found that older apartments are much cheaper, as are apartments farther from campus. New or renovated properties built after 2000 or significantly upgraded had a monthly rental price of $1,575 per room, while properties built 25 years or more ago averaged $986 per month per room.
Prices also decrease the farther you get from campus. Properties within one mile of the university cost an average of $1,746 per month. Within three miles of campus, that drops to $1,452, and within five miles, it drops to $1,384.
The study also shows that students often share rooms to keep rent costs down. While the average monthly rent near campus is $1,273 per room, the more than 4,400 students surveyed reported an average of $903. More than a quarter of students reported sharing rooms, about 17 percent more than at similarly sized schools, JLL found.
Unlike many other universities, living on campus in university-owned housing is the cheaper option for UW-Madison students. On average, rent for a double-occupancy apartment on campus is $862, which is even lower than the Big Ten average. But while most freshmen choose to live on campus, there is a “culture” among seniors of living off campus, the study says.
UW-Madison officials say they will use the study’s findings and JLL’s recommendations to “guide future policy decisions and better help students find the housing that best fits their needs and budget.”
Why are apartment rents near UW-Madison so expensive?
Madison is unique among most college towns in the country in that downtown real estate must consider both students and the many professionals who live in the capital city. This “large pool of potential renters” means that students compete for rental properties not only with each other but also with thousands of non-students. Rental properties near campus are 98% occupied.
Rising enrollment at the university and rapid population growth downtown have increased demand for rental housing. Between 2010 and 2023, Madison’s population within a 2.5-mile radius of the university grew an average of 1.6% annually, the study reported. The number of students at UW-Madison has also increased by 23% since 2010.
This has led to overcrowding in on-campus dormitories, which have maintained an average occupancy rate of 104% from 2010 to 2023 by adding to existing beds. The 104% figure rises to 114% if one excludes the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020.
The location of downtown Madison on an isthmus also limits the amount of land available for new apartment complexes.
Will new housing be built near UW-Madison?
Yes, 1,700 new housing units are expected to be added within a 2.5-mile radius of the UW-Madison campus over the next three years, the study says. Over the past decade, more than 6,000 housing units have been added in the same area.
JLL recommends that private developers consider building three- to five-bedroom units with common areas to maximize space utilization and meet student interest.
The consulting firm also said the city of Madison should offer incentives such as density bonuses and tax breaks to developers who include a certain percentage of affordable housing units in their projects.
It was also suggested that the university explore public-private partnerships with private developers to create easily accessible off-campus housing options for students.
