The Most Expensive College Towns in the Nation Have One Thing in Common: They’re on the Beach

The median home-sale price in Santa Barbara, the most expensive college town in the U.S., is almost $2 million. 

When it comes to housing, the most expensive college town in the U.S. is Santa Barbara, CA, home to a University of California campus with about 26,000 students. Santa Barbara’s median home-sale price is nearly $2 million, more than double the next-most expensive college town. 

Second-place Boca Raton, FL, home to Florida Atlantic University and its 30,000-plus students, has a median home-sale price of more than $820,000. The two most expensive college towns in the country have one big thing in common: they’re on the beach. That’s enough to push real estate prices into the stratosphere. Homebuying and rental demand from faculty and staff exacerbates already high prices.