When Many College Students Live Off Campus, Poverty Rate Goes Up

Small and Large College Towns See Higher Poverty Rates

October 22, 2018

Written by:

Craig Benson and Alemayehu Bishaw

Both in small counties with a large university and in large counties with multiple universities, the presence of college students who live off campus raises the community’s poverty rate.

Previous research showed smaller communities were more likely to have poverty rates affected by students who live off campus. But new findings show a similar impact in some of the largest counties in the United States that are home to multiple colleges and universities.

Using updated American Community Survey 2012-2016 estimates, Census Bureau researchers found that in a number of areas, the inclusion of off-campus students had a statistically significant effect on local poverty rates, in some cases increasing the rate by 10 or more percentage points.

Of the 100 largest on-site enrollment colleges and universities, 81 were located in places that showed a significant impact of college students on poverty rates.

The list of all counties and places with more than 10,000 residents where the presence of off-campus students significantly impacts poverty rates can be found in two tables here.

Students living on campus are not included in the poverty universe and therefore do not impact poverty rates.

Off-Campus Students Push Poverty Rate Up in 211 Counties

Of the 2,437 counties in the United States with populations above 10,000, 211 counties (8.7 percent) had statistically significant decreases in their poverty rate when off-campus college students are excluded. None of the counties saw their poverty rates increase in that scenario.

The research clearly shows that large counties feel the impact. In fact, 87 of the 100 largest colleges and universities based on on-site enrollment are located within these 211 counties.

Mapping Counties Where Off-Campus College Students Affect Poverty Rates

Counties With Populations of 10,000 or More and Statistically Significant Differences in Poverty Rates With Exclusion of Off-Campus College Students: 2012-2016

The map and detailed tables online display all counties with populations above 10,000 that had statistically significant differences between their original poverty rates and their rates when adjusted to exclude college students living off campus.

The map shows where the 211 counties with statistically significant changes are located.

The majority of these counties had decreases of 5 percentage points or less (157 counties or 74.4 percent of all counties that experienced a decline).

A smaller number of counties had a 10 percentage point or more decrease from the original poverty rate (16 counties or 7.6 percent of all counties that experienced a decline).

Counties with the largest differences tended to have smaller total populations.

An additional table [XLS < 1.0 MB] shows places with populations greater than 10,000 people that had statistically significant differences between their original and adjusted poverty rates:

Of these 3,943 places, 226 (5.7 percent) had significant declines in poverty rates with the exclusion of off-campus college students.
Of the 100 largest on-site enrollment colleges and universities, 81 were located in places that showed a significant impact of college students on poverty rates.

This new research can stimulate further thought about how college students impact poverty rates, and how those estimates might be interpreted in college towns.

Craig Benson and Alemayehu Bishaw are Survey Statisticians in the Census Bureau’s Poverty Statistics Branch.

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