Affordable College, Unaffordable Living: Innovative Housing Solutions for Community College Students

Between 2010 and 2022, enrollment in postsecondary institutions declined, a trend that was exacerbated by the sharp decline in enrollment that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2023, higher education enrollment has been increasing and, as mentioned in a previous Community College Insights post, 2024 data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) show enrollment has now rebounded above pre-COVID levels. Interestingly, community colleges have experienced more significant growth in enrollment than their four-year counterparts¹. As student enrollment at community colleges has increased, issues surrounding housing for these students have also grown. Rising costs, limited supply, and navigating administrative hurdles create housing barriers that can ultimately deter some people from pursuing an education.

The Student Basic Needs Survey by the Hope Center at Temple University reported that 15 percent of students enrolled at community colleges experienced homelessness and 51 percent were housing insecure in 2024.² Colleges dedicate numerous resources, often called wraparound services, to ensure student success and retention. Housing-related wraparound services seek to address these hurdles, and community colleges have adopted innovative, and sometimes simple, solutions that seek to address the immediate housing problems their students face.

Obstacles to Putting a Roof Over Students' Heads

Traditionally, conventional wisdom held that community college students were either commuter students able to live at home with parents or adult learners who could find their own accommodations. But this was before both the sharp increase in housing costs across the country and the housing supply issues that have plagued both popular urban destinations as well as rural communities. Nearly 60 percent of students at public two-year institutions who are financially independent may struggle with finding a place to live that is affordable and accessible. According to the 2025 GAP report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 11 percent of extremely low-income renters are students, and their study found that, across the nation, there are only affordable and available options for 35 percent of this extremely low-income renter population.

Most community colleges do not offer on- or off-campus housing for their students, which means students must rely on housing available in the surrounding area. This can cause, or in certain instances exacerbate, supply issues, driving up costs and effectively pricing students out of the market. Furthermore, in some rural areas, land is not zoned for rentals, so people are forced to either buy a home or endure extended commutes; both of which have their own set of challenges. While there are both short-term and longer-term solutions to address these issues, this article focuses on highlighting the immediate solutions that two community colleges have taken to tackle this issue head on.

Leveraging Local Relationships to House Students

Partnering with a Local Housing Authority to Reduce Wait Times

As housing challenges have persisted among low-income students, some institutions have addressed this issue using a remedy that already exists: the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, more commonly known as Section 8 vouchers. This program provides housing assistance to lower-income individuals by subsidizing the cost of rent, utilities, and more.

In San Antonio's Alamo Colleges District, half of its students (around 35,000) were housing insecure at one point in their lives. To combat this, community college leaders in the region leveraged relationships with the local housing authority to allocate around 100 Section 8 vouchers specifically to low-income students each year. This streamlined process helped reduce red tape and significantly reduced the approval time for students, which usually takes years in the greater San Antonio area. Furthermore, the program allows students to utilize the vouchers for a semester after graduating, giving them ample time to find employment and new accommodations.

While this solution has provided a simple way to alleviate some of the pressure of finding housing, participation is limited to a fixed number of students, and currently, landlords are not legally required to accept Section 8 vouchers. In addition, only the lowest income students are eligible to participate in the program.

Finding Homes and Subsidizing Rent

Searching for a place to live also takes time and, in some cases, money. Howard Community College in Columbia, Md., sought to reduce the direct and indirect costs associated with apartment hunting as well as the cost of rent. To do this, they partnered with Howard County and the Columbia Housing Center to launch the county's first-of-its-kind Student Rental Subsidy Program. Students who earn less than 60 percent of the area median income (under $73,320 in 2024) are eligible to apply for this assistance, which can be used to offset rental costs. Additionally, students can take advantage of staff expertise to help them navigate the rental market and find a place to live. This new pilot initiative was made possible through an allocation of $1 million through the Howard County Department of Housing and Community Development's Community Renewal Fund, which is a dedicated source of funding for housing-specific programming.

Share Your Experience with Student Support Services

Just as students face a wide variety of housing issues, there is also a wide variety of potential solutions. While some would take years for colleges to develop and fund, others can be shorter term, leveraging existing programs at the federal, state, or local level. While colleges continue to grapple with meeting students' needs, wraparound services like those discussed in this article are often seen as critical to ensuring student success. Currently, research on wraparound services is limited, as are data on their existence across community colleges.

That is partly why the Richmond Fed's Community College Initiative is expanding its Wraparound Services Survey nationwide in 2025. Our goal is to understand the ways in which community colleges are helping students address barriers to achieving success. This year's survey will launch on May 19, 2025, and we hope to collect data from a large number of community colleges across the country.

Views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond or the Federal Reserve System.