Rent Spikes in the area | Graphic by Abigail Abbott | The Wright State Guardian
While Ohio is known for being a more affordable state, students are feeling the squeeze on the rising costs of dorms and apartments as prices increase. However, WSU offers competitive and more affordable housing for the Dayton area.
The American Housing Crisis
There is no doubt rent prices are increasing for Generation Z.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition says, “On average, the study found, Gen Z-ers — born between 1994 and 2000 — will spend about $145,000 on rent by their 30th birthdays, while millennials — born between 1981 and 1996 — spent $127,000 during the same stage of life.”
And according to Statistca.com, “57 percent of Generation Z was enrolled in college in 2018 compared to 43 percent of Gen Xers in 1987.”
Therefore, many members of Gen Z are likely to be affected by rent and university housing prices as they increase.
These costs continue to increase, with public four-year universities charging an average of $5,900 per semester for housing on-campus. This is an average of $1,475 per month for a four month semester. The rent outside of campus is only marginally higher at $1,563 per month.
Dorms
According to WSU Residential Living, more than 3,000 WSU students live in on-campus dormitories and apartments.
Rates for housing on campus can be found on Wright State’s Website.
For a Hamilton Super Single room, the price rose by $418 from pre-2018.
According to an inflation calculator by SmartAssest.com, “$100 in 2017 will be worth $128 in 2024. This is an average inflation rate of 3.61% and cumulative inflation of 27.97%.”
From the same calculator, if dorm prices followed a rate of 27.97% rate of inflation from 2017 to 2024, a Hamilton Super Single room would be $3,445. The current cost of a Hamilton Super Single Room in 2024 is $3,118, a difference of $327.
When the semesterly price is broken down monthly (for an approximately four month semester), it is $779.50 per month.
According to RentCafe.com, the average rent for an apartment in Dayton is $1041. By choosing a Hamilton Super Single room over an average Dayton apartment, a student saves approximately $1046 on residential costs over four months.
Semesterly prices for a Hamilton Super Single room at WSU is $2,782 less than the $5,900 semesterly average for four-year public universities.
Daniel Wasniewski, graduate student and College Park resident, shared thoughts on the cost and quality of the residence halls on campus.
“I have lived in the dorm as an underclassmen [and] all my years as an undergraduate. [The] accommodations were pretty decent. I mean, the dorms were renovated and they put new carpet in. They're freshly painted every time… Maintenance staff is pretty timely [and] pretty good with fixing everything in a prompt manner. I had a pretty good experience all things considered,” Wasniewski said.
“I do [feel housing cost is reasonable] I mean, in comparison to other universities, like especially some ivy league schools, which can run very pricey.”
Wasniewski finds the on-campus housing to be of very high quality and experiences minimal financial stress due to family and personal contributions, which isn’t always true for off-campus residents.
(Non-WSU) Dayton apartment rent
Despite a difference in cost, many students still choose an off-campus apartment. Cornell University lists increased convenience and amenities, opportunity to build relationships, increased personal responsibility, no campus rules and restrictions and opportunities to learn life skills as some of the reasons students choose to live off-campus.
Senior Kaitlyn Vanderpool enjoys the independence of an off-campus apartment, but appreciates the quality of the WSU student dorms, which they resided in their first year of university.
“I prefer the apartment in the sense that it is my space and that I’m fairly free to do with it as I like,” Vanderpool said. “I don’t have to deal with a roommate or noisy people. But the dorm, I appreciated because the maintenance was fantastic. If I had any issue, it was a lot easier to go to my RA or community director.”
And while supported by parents and husband, rent was a significant source of stress until Vanderpools’s husband joined the military, even with a below average rent of $960 per month.
And even the most affordable of apartments jumped in rent.
The Village at Cloud Park, a more affordable Dayton apartment complex, currently rents one-bedroom apartments at $905 per month. And while it is more affordable, this doesn’t mean that it has not jumped in price significantly. In 2017, the same one-bedroom apartments started at $655 per month. That is a 27% cumulative increase in rent price, just under-pacing the national cumulative inflation rate of 27.97% in that same period.
Overall, Dayton apartments seem to be on par with inflation and below the national average, but still creates significant stress for students as costs increase considering the rising cost of living, less vacant units and future rent prices.
